How To Prepare For Your First Period
Its difficult to predict when your first period will happen, so its a great idea to be prepared. You can take steps now to make sure youre ready when your first period occurs. Some steps to take include:
- talking with a trusted adult and asking any questions you have
- carrying sanitary pads, tampons, or any other menstrual product you choose in your backpack, gym bag, or purse
- keeping an extra pair of pants, tights, or leggings in your locker, desk, or backpack
- looking for places in your school where you can get a sanitary pad or tampon if you need one, such as the nurses office, guidance office, or school bathroom
How Do I Deal With Pms And Cramps
PMS stands for Premenstrual Syndrome. Its when the hormones that control your menstrual cycle cause changes in your body and emotions around the time of your period.
Some of the most common PMS symptoms are:
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Cramps
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Bloating
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Breakouts
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Feeling tired
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Mood swings
Some people get PMS every time they have their periods. Others only get PMS every once in awhile. You may have all or just some PMS symptoms. And some people don’t get PMS at all. Learn more about PMS.
Cramps are one of the most common symptoms to have before/during your period. They can be super painful, or just a little annoying. You can calm cramps by taking pain medicine . Putting a heating pad where it hurts, taking a hot bath, exercising, or stretching your body can also help. Learn more about how to deal with cramps.
Certain types of birth control like the pill, shot, implant, and IUD can help with PMS and other period problems. If your PMS is so bad that its hard to do normal activities during your period, talk to an adult you trust or your family doctor. You can also call your local Planned Parenthood health center. You shouldnt have to suffer every month, and they can help you find the cause and get treatment.
How Does Puberty Affect Growth
Girls typically have a growth spurt in the one to two years before menstruation starts.
For most girls, puberty occurs between 8 and 13 years old and the growth spurt occurs between 10 and 14 years old. They grow just 1 to 2 additional inches in the year or two after getting their first period. This is when they reach their adult height.
Most girls reach their adult height by age 14 or 15. This age could be younger depending on when a girl first gets her period.
You may want to contact your childs doctor if your daughter is 15 and hasnt yet begun her period.
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Causes & Risk Factors
Once a month, hormones cause the lining of the uterus to grow and thicken with extra blood and tissue in preparation for nourishing a fetus. When an egg is released by the ovaries but doesnt get fertilized by a sperm cell, the uterus sheds this extra lining it had prepared for a baby. Menstrual bleeding is this lining being shed from the uterus and flowing out of the body through the vagina.
When do girls start having menstrual periods?
On average, girls have their first menstrual period between the ages of 12 and 13. However, like all changes in puberty, every girls body changes at a different rate. Some girls may start menstruating as early as age 10, others not until 15. Most girls should have started their menstrual periods by age 16.
As a general rule of thumb, a girls first period usually occurs about two years after her breasts begin to develop.
What Should I Know About Menstruation What Is The Medical Definition It*
*Medical section written by: Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD
Everyone who is about to enter puberty should be taught or know the basic medical definition of menstruation and that it is a normal process that females go through as their bodies prepare themselves for potential pregnancy. It is a part of the monthly menstrual cycle that occur in the female reproductive system that makes pregnancy possible.
Medically, menstruation is the process in a woman of discharging blood and other materials from the lining of the uterus at about one monthly interval from puberty until menopause , except during pregnancy. This discharging process lasts about 3-5 days.
What are the signs and symptoms of menstruation?
Beside the bleeding, other signs and symptoms of menstruation may include headache, acne, bloating, pains in the low abdomen, tiredness, mood changes, food cravings, breast soreness, and diarrhea.
Whan does menstruation begin? When does it end?
The menstrual cycle is the hormonal driven cycle Day 1 is the first day of your period while day 14 is the approximate day you ovulate and if an egg is not fertilized, hormone levels eventually drop and at about day 25 the egg begins to dissolve and the cycle begins again with the period at about day 30. Menstruation begins day 1 and normally ends days 3-5 of the menstrual cycle.
At what age do girls go through puberty and begin and start their period ?
How long does a period last?
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When Should I Talk To My Kids About Periods
Talking about periods shouldn’t be one big talk at a particular age. Instead, start the conversation early and slowly build on your child’s understanding. Girls and boys need reliable information about periods. So make sure you talk to your sons too!
- For example, if your 4-year-old sees a tampon and asks what it’s for, you could say, “Women bleed a little from their vagina every month. It’s called a period. It isn’t because they’re hurt. It’s how the body gets ready for a baby. The tampon catches the blood so it doesn’t go on the underwear.”
Over the years, you can give your child more information as he or she is ready.
If your child doesn’t ask questions about periods, you can bring it up. By the time they’re 6 or 7 years old, most kids can understand the basics of periods. Look for a natural moment to talk about it, such as:
- when kids asks about puberty or changing bodies
- if your child asks where babies come from
- if you’re at the store buying pads or tampons
Ask if your child knows about periods. Then, you can share basic information, such as: As a girl develops into a woman, her body changes so she can have a baby when she grows up. Part of that is getting a place ready for the baby to grow inside the mom. The place a baby grows is called a uterus. Every month the uterus wall gets ready for a baby. If there is no baby, the uterus wall comes off and bleeds a little. The blood comes out a woman’s vagina. The body makes a new wall every month, just in case there is a baby.
Menstruation And The First Period: What Girls Should Know
âWhat are these, Mommy?â asked the 7-year-old girl, reaching into their motherâs vanity drawer and pulling out a box of tampons. Caught unprepared to talk about puberty and menstruation, their mother improvised. âUmâ¦theyâre windshield wiper cleaners, honey.â
Will you be more ready than that when itâs time to talk to your daughter about their first period? That time may come sooner than you think.
Although a girlâs first period usually occurs at about age 12, some girls experience their first period much earlier. And even before they get their first period, your daughter will be noticing other changes in their body: Recent studies show that most girls start developing breast buds sometime between age 9 and 10.
When that happens, youâll know that their first period may not be far off: The development of breast buds usually precedes a girlsâ first period by about two years, while pubic and underarm hair usually begins to appear about six months before the onset of menstruation.
âA girlâs first period should actually be a milestone in a series of talks over many years about normal development — physical changes and psychological changes,â says Karen Zager, PhD, a psychologist in private practice in New York City and co-author of The Inside Story on Teen Girls: Experts Answer Parentsâ Questions. âAll of that should start when theyâre very young, in age-appropriate ways.â
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What Should I Use
You can use Always Dailies pantyliners to help absorb daily discharge, and Always pads for your period.
Always Ultra pads have a super absorbent core that turns liquid into gel, keeping your skin dry and comfortable and providing up to 100% leakage protection.
This can go a long way in providing extra peace of mind for a first-time menstruater.
Why Do Women Have Periods
A period is normal vaginal bleeding that is a natural part of a healthy monthly cycle for a person with a uterus and ovaries.
Every month, in the years between puberty and menopause , your body readies itself for pregnancy. The lining of your uterus thickens and an egg grows and is released from one of your ovaries.
If pregnancy doesnt occur, estrogen and progesterone levels fall, eventually hitting a level that tells your body to begin menstruation. During your period, the uterus sheds its lining and its passed, along with some blood, out of the body through the vagina.
The average person who menstruates loses about 2 to 3 tablespoons of blood during their period.
The time between periods typically averages 28 days, with bleeding typically lasting around 4 to 5 days. However, people can experience longer time between periods, and fewer or more days of bleeding, and still have totally regular periods.
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When Do Girls Breasts Stop Growing
Breast development is usually the first sign of puberty. As a girls body grows, she will start to develop bumps under her nipple, called breast buds. As these buds grow, they will form breasts made up of mammary glands and fatty tissues.
Certain aspects of breast size are hereditary, meaning it runs in the family . Breasts will vary in size depending on a womans weight. After puberty, breast tissue continues to change and respond to hormones throughout a womans life, including during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, breast-feeding, and menopause.
A females breasts can start to develop from as young as 8 and can continue until the age of around 18.
Teenagers can sometimes feel self-conscious about this element of growing up, but it is normal to:
- have one breast slightly bigger than the other
- have sore or tender breasts at times, particularly around a period
- have bumps, pimples, or hair around the nipples
A well-balanced diet, which gives growing teenagers all the nutrients they need, and keeping physically active will support continued growth and proper development.
But puberty and subsequent growth can be delayed for a variety of reasons. Constitutional delay, or being a late bloomer, describes a pattern of later development that runs in families and is nothing to worry about. These teenagers will fully develop, just later than their peers.
Being overweight can affect hormone levels and signal the start of puberty earlier than expected.
What Does It Mean To Get Your First Period
Your body begins to produce adult levels of hormones during puberty. A period happens when your brain sends a signal to your ovaries to release hormones called estrogen and progesterone.
Every month, starting around the first period, estrogen and progesterone hormones prepare your body for a possible pregnancy. This causes the lining of your uterus to build up. This buildup is to prepare for a fertilized egg to attach and begin development.
After about a month of buildup without an egg attaching, the buildup will break down and bleed. This blood is what is seen during a period. This cycle repeats every month and is called a menstrual cycle.
Its common for a cycle not to be regular after a first period. Periods may be hard to predict occurring every 3 weeks, every 2 months apart. This often lasts for the first 1 or 2 years after a first period.
There are apps that can help track periods. Using an app to track in the first couple of years can help spot if anything is very irregular. You can use information from the app to start a conversation with a doctor.
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How Will I Know When My Periods Are Going To Start
Signs that your period is on its way are if you’ve grown underarm and pubic hair. Typically, you’ll start your periods about 2 years after your breasts start growing and about a year after getting a white vaginal discharge. The average girl will get her first period around 12 years old, but it varies from person to person.
At What Age Does A First Period Generally Happen
In the United States, a child may get their first period when theyre about 12. However, anytime between 10 and 15 is within the average range. Its not entirely unusual for a first period to happen as young as 8 or as old as 16.
Factors such as family history, race, diet, environment, and weight can all determine the time a first period occurs. Children who participate in intense athletics or are underweight might get their periods later.
It can be hard to predict when a first period will occur, but there are a few ways you might be able to estimate. As a rule, a first period will occur about 2 years after breasts start to develop. Additionally, a mucus-like vaginal discharge will often start 6 months to a year before the first period.
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Whats The Connection Between Puberty And Breast Development
Breast development is often the first sign of puberty. Breasts may start developing 2 to 2 1/2 years before a girl gets her period.
Some girls may notice breast buds only a year after their first periods. Others may not begin developing breasts for three to four years after beginning menstruation.
The buds may not appear at the same time, but they usually appear within six months of one another.
How Long Do Periods Last And How Much Blood Is There
Periods usually last about 5-7 days, but for some girls, they can be longer or shorter. Periods flow levels vary and can range from light to moderate or heavy. On average, there will be a total of 2-4 tablespoons of blood.
If a period lasts more than 7 days, needs more than 5 pads per day or has heavy bleeding, talk to your pediatrician about what is causing this.
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