Menarche- How should be a girl’s journey to womanhood!

“I was terrified, embarrassed and shocked”, shared Shanti, a teenager now, when she was asked about her experience of Menarche or first menstruation! She’s not the only one who went through this feeling. A large share of India’s girls stay unaware about menstruation before it starts and thus feels horrified and at a loss when it starts all of a sudden.  

When does it start?

Menarche or first menstruation in Indian girls occur as early as 8 years and as late as even in 16 years. This variation happens depending on the geographic region, wealth status, nutrition, ethnic origin, social status and physique of the girl. So, don't panick if you girl starts menstruating even at the age of 8 years.

Early menarche causes

In young girls, early menarche may happen due to several environmental, social and health stress factors like- 

• Obesity and lack of physical activity
• If the girl is exposed to smoking
• If born with a low birth weight
• Stress at home due to parental quarrels
• Tension due to father’s absence from home
• If the mother suffered from Preeclampsia during pregnancy

Why young girls should be pre-informed about Menarche?

Menarche is the start of a girl’s journey to womanhood. This new beginning should be beautiful and healthy for all girls. A girl goes through mixed emotions during this time due to the changes of hormonal secretion. With puberty, the body of a girl goes through lot of changes which can create confusion in her mind. The uninformed or misinformed girls undergo lot of anxiety and fear during their first menstrual cycle. She doesn’t know what is happening to her body so the sight of blood frightens her. To make this journey a joyful and positive one, all the girls should be educated about menarche and menstruation, a little before the menstruating age. Being misinformed is also dangerous, as it may lead to severe consequences. 

  

Who are the probable sources of Information?

The little girls usually look forward to their mothers, grandmothers or elder sisters to share their little secrets. So, they can be the first source of information regarding menarche. Mothers should be very friendly with their daughters so that the girls feel free to discuss anything. The elder sisters if educated enough themselves about the subject, can give a better idea about menstruation to their younger sisters.

Next comes the school teachers. Many girls experience their first menstruation in school hours. During this time, teachers are the best resource to give proper guidance. The peer groups, who have already gone through the same, can also share their experience and guide. However, here remains the risk of passing wrong information as most of them might not be well aware about the issue themselves.

Television and newspaper advertisements of different brands of sanitary napkins create curiosity among the little girls and boys too. So, they might get their first information through this media too.

In this digital age, children are hugely exposed to online sources. So, it is quite possible that they get information about menstruation and menarche from there. Health Providers like your family doctor or a nurse visiting a school can be a good source of information.

When, what and how they should be informed?

The best time to educate your girl about menarche and menstruation is a little before she reaches the age of menstruation. So, considering the preponed age of menarche, you can start it as early as at the age of 8 years. 

At the very onset, it should be conveyed to the girls that it is biological process that happens to every girls of her age so she should not worry. If the conveyor frightens her at the start saying that it is the worst part of a woman’s life with pain and suffering then she will never be able to take it positively and she will hate it throughout her life. 

The following points should be in her knowledge before she goes through menarche- 

• Physiology of menstruation
• Sanitary pads
• Myths about menstruation
• Importance of Nutrition
• Hygiene practices
• Physical effect of menstruation 

The message conveyer (be it mother, sister, aunt, grandmother or health service provider), can share their menarche experience in a very positive way so that the girl can relate and feels free to ask questions and clarify her doubts.

How to deal with menarche when outside?

When menstruation starts for the first time, the girl can be in school, participating sports, and dance classes or maybe she is travelling. In such cases, the situation become little tough than being at the comfort of your own home. To face such situations, the girls should be prepared earlier. If in school, she can take help from a lady teacher or ask a senior girl for guidance. In other situations, she should approach the most trusted person and try to take in confidence about her situation for finding a proper way out of it. It is best to keep a sanitary pad ready in your daughter’s bag when she is approaching the age of menarche and going outside home.

Role of fathers

In our society, it has always been considered to be the role of a mother to educate her daughter about menarche and other issues related to her growth period. But, it is equally important to educate the fathers and prepare them to support their daughters when mother is not around or maybe he is a single parent. The girls usually feel shy to even utter a word about menstruation in front of their fathers and vice versa. But, this social and mental barrier need a change as fathers can play a great role in supporting their daughters during this time.

Inclusion in school curricula

Teaching about Puberty and Menstrual Health & Hygiene, is equally important like other subjects such as Mathematics, Science and Literature. In India, 20% girls drop out of schools when they reach the age of puberty. This is due to the lack of education about menarche, menstruation health & Hygiene and myths around the issue.

Hence, if the topic is included in school curricula, the children (both girls and boys) will get correct information about puberty and they will be better prepared to deal with it. The curious boys also get misinformed about puberty and get misguided. Hence, the education system must include puberty education in school curricula without any further reluctance. 

Let’s Celebrate not mourn over it

In several parts of India, women are still discriminated and side-lined during the menstruating days. As a result, the women develop a negative feeling towards this and some of them pass it through generations. 

Whereas, in some parts of South India, the menarche of a girl is celebrated with a lavish feast thus making her feel special. This biological change in a girl initiates her journey to womanhood which should be full of hopes and positivity. So, let us all educate ourselves, our girls and boys so that there exists no space for negativity around menarche and menstruation in India!