DUTCH Cycle Mapping

The DUTCH Cycle Mapping maps the progesterone and estrogen pattern throughout the menstrual cycle. It provides the full picture of a woman’s cycle to answer important questions for patients with month-long symptoms, infertility, and PCOS. Nine (9) targeted estrogen and progesterone measurements are taken throughout the cycle to characterize the follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases.

For some women, testing reproductive hormones (progesterone, estrogen, etc.) on a single day is sufficient. In other scenarios, the clinical picture cannot be properly captured without “mapping” out the hormonal pattern throughout their menstrual cycle.

The expected pattern of hormones shows relatively low estrogen levels early in the cycle, a surge around ovulation and modest levels in the latter third of the cycle (the luteal phase). Progesterone levels, on the other hand, stay relatively low until after ovulation. After ovulation, levels ideally increase (>10-fold) and then drop back down at the end of the cycle. A disruption in this cycle can lead to infertility or hormonal imbalance.