May is National Menstrual Health Awareness Month. In an effort to increase awareness and understanding for women’s menstrual issues including sexual and reproductive health, the initiative also seeks to empower women to break the silence around menstruation and menstrual hygiene.
At the core of the campaign is education.
Just the Facts Ma’am
Menstruation is a normal and healthy part of life for most women
Girls usually start having menstrual cycles around puberty, age 13 years and stop having them at the onset of menopause, around age 52 years
This means on average a woman menstruates for around 37.5 years
A normal cycle can be as short as 21 days or as long as 35 days, with 28 days being the average
Every month our vaginal environment fluctuates due to our menstrual cycle. This causes the loss of good bacteria, making us more susceptible to uro-vaginal infections (UTIs, BV, and yeast infections). In addition to that, there are other factors that cause the destruction of good bacteria, everything from feminine hygiene products, to spermicides and antibiotics. To combat the loss of good bacteria, we need to ensure our vaginal environment is restored and maintained through daily probiotic supplementation. Through continued daily use, every month, the vaginal environment and pH will be restored and maintained as you keep taking it.
Amazing Facts that Will Surprise You
You can still get pregnant while on your period
Although it’s unlikely that you will become pregnant while you are menstruating, it is not impossible. This is because sperm can survive in the body for up to five or six days — so if you have a relatively short cycle, have sex towards the end of your period, and ovulate just after your period finishes, you could potentially fall pregnant.
You lose a lot less blood than you think you do
Although it may seem like a lot even during your heaviest flow days, your body only actually loses around three tablespoons of blood during your period, with the average woman losing anywhere from one tablespoon to a small cup of blood during a normal period cycle.
Your period can affect how you sound and smell
According to vocalization researchers, women’s voices can change slightly during their menstrual cycle due to reproductive hormones affecting the vocal cords. Hoarseness,unsteady pitch, or temporary loss of high notes are all vocal symptoms. The same female reproductive hormones also affect your natural scent, meaning you smell different when you’re on your period. This is very subtle and actually consciously detectable. It’s more of an animalistic thing, harking back to our caveman days when men would be more attracted to women who were ovulating rather than menstruating, meaning they could procreate
May 28 in particular is Menstrual Hygiene Day. Started in 2014, it is a day where the stigma and taboos surrounding menstruation are “canceled.” The aim of the movement is to create a world where women and girls are no longer held back because they menstruate, and where they are not prevented from reaching their full potential as human beings. Menstrual Hygiene Day underpins the need for all women everywhere to be educated on menstruation, have access to quality feminine products,help change world views on menstruation and create a #periodfriendlyworld.
To join the movement, visit https://www.menstrualhygieneday.org/
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