Menstrual Cyle
How long is the average menstrual cycle?
23 - 35 days
Name two different types of sanitary products.
Tampons, pads or menstrual cups, menstrual rings, or period underwear.
True or False: if you spend enough time together, people can begin to menstruate on the same schedule.
In 1994, a group of Black women in Chicago came together to define this concept to illustrate this framework to go beyond the human rights definition of the freedom to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.
Reproductive Justice
Around what part of the cycle does ovulation occur?
Midcycle, Midway, Halfway around day 11-21
What's PMS?
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) includes physical and emotional changes (mood swings and irritability, tension, bloating, and breast tenderness) that can occur during around 1-2 weeks before a period.
True or false: you should power through your to-do list on your period.
False! Hustle culture is crazy and just because we can do everything while on our periods doesn't mean we should. Take the time you need to rest and replenish; communicate with your friends and family what you need to take it easy (i.e. a little more flexibility and understanding, chocolate, to be left alone) and hold yourself to self-care!
True or False: you can swim while you have your period.
True: as long as you use the right protection, you are perfectly fine to swim at any point in your cycle.
This phrase about bodily autonomy -- or the ability and power to make decisions for yourself regarding your reproductive health and body overall -- was coined in the 1960's by second-wave feminists fighting for birth control and abortion access.
"My Body My Choice"
True or False. It is normal for someone to have irregular period schedules when they first start menstruating.
True. For the first few years after menstruation begins, cycles are often irregular. They may be shorter (3 weeks) or longer (6 weeks), or only occur three or four periods a year. http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/talk_about_menstruation.html#
True or False. Once you get your period, you get it for life.
False. Menstruation usually stops between the ages of 45 and 51 (menopause). Menopause (men-menses, pause... pause) means someone's body no longer produces estrogen, and thus no longer ovulates (at least, not without the help of reproductive technology.)
Name 2-3 ways to manage pain during PMS and menstruation.
Hydration, hot compress, over-the-counter pain medication, exercise, massage, warm bath, and more!
True or False. If a someone uses a tampon they are no longer considered a virgin.
False. This is a myth that if someone uses a tampon they are not a virgin anymore. Being a virgin has to do with not having sexual intercourse yet and has nothing to do with tampons.
True or false: access to abortion care is a reproductive rights issue, not a birth justice issue.
False: abortions are both. Reproductive rights because one's access to abortion care is restricted by state laws and defined by the Supreme Court. birth justice because birth justice is about the ability and power to choose whether or not to carry a pregnancy, to choose when, where how, and with whom to birth, including access to traditional and indigenous healing systems and care, such as midwifery, full spectrum doula care and other birth services including abortion care, and the right to breastfeeding support. This includes legal rights, but it also applies to social issues like race, gender, class, access to healthcare, stigma, shame, and more.
True or False: Your period is the end of your cycle.
Menstruation marks the beginning of the menstrual cycle where you're shedding the endometrial lining created to prepare the body for pregnancy. Phase 2 is the follicular phase, where the a hormone is released from the pituitary gland causing your ovaries (little sacs that house the eggs) to grow and mature. Then you have ovulation -- phase 3 -- where the egg is released from the ovaries through the fallopian tube and descend to the uterus with the help of two hormones, FSH and luteinizing hormone. During phase 3, the luteal phase, progesterone causes the uterus to thicken its endometrial lining and cervical fluids. If the egg isn't fertilized then it starts all over again with menstruation.
True or False. Not changing your period sanitary protection products regularly enough can be dangerous.
True. Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is a rare, but serious illness that is believed to be caused by using tampons that are too high in absorbency or leaving a tampon in for too long. Symptoms include a sudden high fever, a rash similar to sunburn, vomiting, diarrhea, muscular pain and headache Choosing the lowest absorbency tampon necessary, washing hands thoroughly before and after inserting a tampon, using pads overnight and changing tampons at least every three to fours hours, can minimize the already low risk of TSS.
True or false: birth justice only applies to people who are about to or have given birth.
False: people's first touchpoint with birth justice is often their periods -- where you can make decisions about your physical and mental health like pain management, relationship to your body and others, and how to care for each other throughout this life.
True or False: Most people are extra sensitive around their periods.
True and False: PMS or pre-menstrual syndrome is a collection of symptoms that arise during phase 4 of the menstrual cycle, right before your period where you start feeling cranky, bloated, moody, and a difference in appetite. PMDD or pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder is a severe version of PMS that results in depression, suicidal ideation, mood swings on top of the regular PMS symptoms. It's important to pay extra attention to your body and mind between days 14-28 of your cycle, and if you're experiencing these feelings tell someone you trust and seek help.
What can someone to miss their period?
You can skip or miss your period because of stress, exercise, and sickness. It can happen if you gain or lose a lot of weight. And of course it can happen if you're pregnant or on birth control. If you miss a period not because of pregnancy or birth control, please seek medical advice.
Name 2-3 ways we can care for each other throughout our cycles.
There are no correct responses but here are some ideas!
Putting together period kits or a period closet at school with free products like disposable heating pads, tampons and pads, chocolates and candies.
Asking for help and sharing advice on self-care during your cycle. Memorialize it as a free period guide for all students.
Rotating spa night sleepover where you also bake a ziti for your friends and eating the entire thing in one sitting. With ice cream.
Group yoga for hip and back pain!
True or false: periods should be hidden from people who don't get them.
False: transparency about menstruation is key to having open conversations about how your cycle affects physical and mental health -- and to ending stigma and shame surrounding the menstrual cycle.
This Black woman-started movement in the entertainment industry brought awareness to sexual violence and it's relationship to media at large in the Western world.
The #MeToo Movement