Starting your Periods

by Shelley White
^{(creative writers at www.morewriting.co.uk)}
I really think I'm a lucky girl. Well, you see, I can talk to my mum about anything and she really makes a point of explaining things to me. I don't get embarrassed at all ... and neither does she.

When I was ten years old she told me about starting my periods---this is called 'menstruation'. She said straight away that I mustn't be frightened by anything she was going to tell me because it's all perfectly natural. Girls can start having their periods when they reach the age of about eleven years, though they can begin slightly earlier than this, or they may not begin until as late as sixteen years.

She explained that when girls start having periods it is all part of growing up and becoming a woman. What happens is that about once a month various changes take place inside a woman's body. These changes are brought about by substances called hormones. Hormones are released by certain glands in your body, pass into your bloodstream and cause your period to begin.

The main thing you'll notice is that for a few days each month you will lose a little blood from your vagina (the opening between your legs, near where you do a wee). I know this sounds really scary, but honestly it's not as awful as you think. The hormones I told you about just before cause the inner lining of your uterus (at the top of your vagina) to come away down your vagina. This is your period or it can be called menstrual bleeding.

Don't worry about the blood making a mess on your clothes. All you have to do is put a special little pad called a 'sanitary towel' inside your knickers and that catches the drops of blood. You will need to replace the pads a few times during the day and at night but it really isn't a problem.

If you want, instead of a pad, you can use a tampon made of cotton wool inside your vagina to absorb the blood. You put the tampon into your vagina ... your mum may be able to show you how to do it ... or just follow the instructions on the packet. You need to change your tampons regularly, though. It's really very simple and doesn't hurt at all. You will quickly learn the knack of putting it in correctly.

It's entirely up to you whether you want to use pads or tampons. Some girls wait a few years before they try tampons ... it really all depends how you feel about using them and also how active you are. For example, you may not realise it but tampons mean you can go swimming! There's no problem ... the tampon stays inside your body and it won't leak.

When you want to take out your tampon just pull the little string that hangs outside of your body and it will come out easily. It's fine to flush it down the loo, but don't do that with a sanitary towel because it could block the loo ... wrap it up and put it in a bin.

When you have your period you might get a bit of tummy ache, a headache or feel a bit yucky. Not everyone feels like this ... you might not notice any difference at all. But if you do, ask for some painkillers or have a lie down in a warm bed and you will start to feel a bit better.

You may also find that for a couple of days before your period starts, you feel a bit ratty or fed-up ... this is called 'pre-menstrual tension/syndrome' or PMT or PMS for short. Don't panic because it's entirely normal and as soon as your period starts, you will feel lots better.

Last week I had a sleep-over at my house. Amy and Sarah came to stay. We had a great time playing CDs and trying out my mum's make-up (with permission of course!). During the night, Amy woke me up. She was crying because she had a bit of blood on her nightie and down her leg. She thought she was really poorly. I felt so sorry for her because her mum hadn't explained to her about periods. She didn't know that she had just started her first period.

All I did was tell her not to be scared and explained about starting periods and that I had already had a few of them. She stopped crying then and calmed down a lot. I gave her some of my sanitary towels to be going on with until she got home.

I don't know why Amy's mum didn't tell her about periods like my mum did. If you know what to expect and are prepared, you won't have anything to worry about.