What is Menarche?

Menarche is the First menstrual period in a female adolescent and is a notable developmental milestone in girls. It unravels the beginning of reproductive capacity, maturity, and wellness. Menarche usually occurs between the ages of 10 and 16, with the average age of 12 years, 4 months. It is indeed a normal formative hallmark.

According to World Health Organization (2024), pre-menarche preparedness is significantly low globally. They reported that only 39% of schools provide menstrual health education and many young people scored below 50% on basic menstrual knowledge. Furthermore, menstrual products are unavailable, and many cannot afford them, for example in sub-Sahara Africa, only 1 in 8 schools provide free or for-sale menstrual products. This is the reason we are making this clarion call for you to join us as a parent or guardian, corporate organization, community leader and as an individual to educate the girl child about her first period and also donate to this course to alleviate period poverty.

The Female adolescents’ Misconception of Menstruation

It is typical for girls to associate diverse negative physical and psychological changes with menstruation which reflects misconception, ignorance and limited menstrual literacy. This highlights why some girls’ attitude and expectations about menstruation are negatively skewed, thereby contributing to self-surveillance, low-self-esteem, body-shaming and lack of agency in making sexual decisions such as confidently saying ‘NO’ to sexual predators. Peer pressure at this phase contributes to anti-social behavior, deviance, and school absence, which may result in teenage pregnancy and school dropout. Some harbor fear of being different from their peers. Lack of first menstrual literacy is the foundation of these misconceptions and divergence.  

How does Menarche Occur?

The occurrence of menarche is painless and begins without notable warning. This   may the reason why female adolescents feel awkward when it occurs, especially those without menstrual literacy. During first menstrual cycles, the release of ovaries may vary in length and flow. When your adolescent experience absence of normal periods, it is unrelated to pregnancy and termed amenorrhea. But when menarches occur too early, too late or not at all, seek medical help as these scenarios have future adverse outcomes. Always remember that menarche is said to be early if it happens at or before age 10 and late if it occurs at or later than 15 years. 

Practical To do list

• Focus on proactive menstrual education, using practical necessities such as menstrual care supplies and emotional validation to prepare your child for first menarche to reduce fear, anxiety and confusion.
• Focus on everyday management  and practicalities such as how to use, open and dispose menstrual products rather than your child’s anatomy and reproduction. 
• Talk about the subjective experience, which includes what a period feels like. For example, what mild cramping and sensation of blood flow feels like without instilling fear in her.
• Address the issue of mishap eventualities, for example, spotting, breakthrough bleeding (unplanned or unexpected bleeding), and overflow. These are the number one fears of young girls, so teach her how to handle unexpected occurrences at school, the need to have at least one pad in her school bag and to ask her teacher or school nurse for help. 

Pre-menarche preparedness cannot be over emphasized as menarche is one of the most significant transitional phases of a female adolescent. We are confident that as a parent or guardian, regardless of your gender, you play a crucial role in helping your girl child as she transforms physically, mentally and socially.