A New Study Found That Girls are Getting Their First Periods Increasingly Earlier

A study published by JAMA Network and The Guardian found that girls in the United States have been having their periods earlier over the last 50 years. The trend is particularly pronounced among Black, Hispanic, Asian and mixed-race participants and among those who reported lower socioeconomic status.

In addition to an increasingly younger age for first periods, the study noted that people getting their first periods early (younger that age 11) or very early (younger than age 9) roughly doubled during this timeframe.

Dr. Anne-Marie Oelschalger, a pediatric gynecologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists clinical consensus committee for gynecology observed “It’s quite distressing for our patients and their parents. They’re still in elementary school in third or fourth grade and trying to manage periods is hard.”

For families with lower socioeconomic status the stress and concern can be doubly troubling. Often at-risk women and girls must choose between food for the family or period supplies. This results in strong negative emotions: 47% report being embarrassed; 35% are ashamed and 32% experience depression according to research reported by U by Kotex conducted with YouGov.

This stress is often reflected in school attendance as well. 2 in 5 girls reported missing school due to their periods. That can mean missing up to 20% of their education if experienced every month.

Alliance for Period Supplies of SWFL is working hard to provide these at-risk young girls with safe, reliable period supplies so that they can feel confident enough to attend school while they are menstruating.