Wear White Again supports Menstrual Hygiene Day
This year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day) [i], which takes place on 28 May, aims to empower women to manage their menstruation safely, hygienically, with confidence and without shame. MH Day aims to help break the silence and build awareness about the fundamental role that good menstrual hygiene plays in enabling women and girls to reach their full potential.[ii]
On average a woman will have 480 periods between the ages of 12 and 52 [iii]. Despite this at least 500 million women and girls globally lack adequate facilities for general menstrual hygiene management (MHM) [iv], including access to clean water, affordable and available sanitary products and soap for washing.2This in turn can have a significant impact on the educational opportunities, health and overall social status of women and girls around the world.1But, this issue is not limited to developing countries – in the UK, one in seven girls has struggled to afford sanitary wear and one in five has changed to a less suitable sanitary product due to cost.[v]
Struggling to afford sanitary products is hard enough, but for those with heavy periods the issue can be magnified. Heavy periods, defined by bleeding that lasts more than seven days per cycle and bleeding heavy enough that a sanitary product must be changed every hour for several hours in a row [vi], affect more than 1 in 5 women.[vii] Nearly a quarter of women with heavy periods feel uncomfortable talking about them to their doctors.[viii]
If you are suffering from heavy periods why not use MH Day as a reason to book your GP appointment.
You can find more information about what is normal in the ‘Talking Heavy Periods’ guide, including information on preparing for an appointment with your GP.
The Wear White Again campaign is sponsored by Hologic.
References
[i]Menstrualhygieneday.org. (2019). About Menstrual Hygiene Day | MHDay. Last accessed April 2019
[ii]World Health Organization. (2019). Menstrual Hygiene Day. Last Accessed April 2019
[iii]NHS Choices: Periods (2016) Last accessed April 2019
[iv]Medium. (2019). #NoMoreLimits: Good menstrual hygiene empowers women and girls to rise. Accessed 9 Apr. 2019
[v]Plan International (2017). Plan International UK’s Research on Period Poverty and Stigma Last accessed April 2019
[vi]Heavy Menstrual Bleeding | Bleeding Disorders in Women. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last accessed April 2019
[vii]Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. National Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Audit, 2011. Last accessed April 2019
[viii]Data on file: MISC-05658-GBR-EN Rev 001
