It’s not easy going into puberty and finding out that until menopause your body will bleed every month. “The age of the first period varies between 9 and 16 years,” explains Fabienne Bitschnau, educator and sexual health adviser at the SIPE centre.
12 to 14 years old
The average age around which girls get their first period
Her colleague Claude Rey, also an educator and counselor in sexual health, specifies that “often, the average age is around 12-14 years old. Before this age, girls who have been diagnosed with precocious puberty are usually followed by a pediatrician. “And it is only recommended to consult if her first period has not yet appeared at 17,” suggests Fabienne Bitschnau.
A workshop for teenage girls, where to speak without taboos
The phenomenon can generate a multitude of more or less distressing questions: “Will it be painful?”, “Will I lose a lot of blood?”, “Which protection to choose?”, “How to use it?” And perhaps the most important: “Who to talk to?”
To respond to this without taboos and in all kindness, the SIPE centers offer workshops outside the school framework.
Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. are devoted to teenage girls who wish to discuss it among teenage girls; Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. are organized for young people who come accompanied by a trusted adult. “It can be a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, a godmother, a big sister, etc.”, specifies Claude Rey. “On Wednesdays, they are often a little older than those who come on Saturdays, and who, very often, have not yet had their period.”
The facilitators are other young girls, who started menstruating a short time ago and who share their experience.
Claude Reysexual health educator and counselor at the SIPE center
“The workshop was created by students from the HES as an end-of-training project. They imagined it to break the taboo and, after testing the project at the SIPE center in Sierre, they wanted it to last,” explains Fabienne Bitschnau.
“The facilitators of these workshops are other young girls who started menstruating a short time ago and who share their experience. This intergenerational transmission brings real added value,” rejoices Claude Rey, who supervises the sessions with his colleague.
“After the evocation of puberty in general, we talk about everything that is anatomical and physiological, then the pairs present each periodic protection, while delivering their advice for optimal use”, explains Fabienne Bitschnau.
“That’s usually when tongues loosen. The girls then address the issue of pain, muscle relaxation, medication to take, the need to speak to a doctor if it is too painful in order to rule out the diagnosis of endometriosis, etc.
The right protection is the one you feel most comfortable with.
Fabienne Bitschnausexual health educator and counselor at the SIPE center
On registration, these workshops offer a moment of sharing to a maximum of twelve people, all free of charge. “We hope to be able to open them one day to other audiences such as older girls, women, mothers, boys too,” explains Claude Rey. “Similarly, we would like to address other themes in the same form, such as premenstrual syndromes, menopause, the functioning of cycles, etc.”
Try the different possibilities to get to know each other better
Tampon, towel, cup or period panties… how to choose the ideal protection? “There is no right or wrong protection. The one that suits corresponds to the one with which you feel the most comfortable, ”notes Fabienne Bitschnau.
“In general, girls who have their very first period favor external protection such as pads (reusable or not, organic or not) and period panties.”
The design of the latter can be very elegant and it is now easy to find this kind of product in supermarkets.
Read also: No free sanitary napkins in Valais schools
Reusable protections – panties, cup, sponge (natural or synthetic) and reusable towel – have the double advantage of being both ecological and economical, “since they can be washed, they last several years, and even if the investment basic is a little more expensive than for disposable models”.
However, they require a certain organization, since they have to be washed and therefore build up a stock that lasts throughout its cycle. “If you’re away from home all day, it’s not necessarily the most practical,” illustrates Claude Rey.
Read also: Veysonnaz: she creates green and durable menstrual panties to replace tampons
The internal protections – tampon (with or without applicator, organic or not), sponge and menstrual cup – generally satisfy older girls, since they need to be comfortable with the blood and their body in order to be properly placed and used.
However, they offer great freedom of movement, as they can be kept longer in the body without being felt.
There remains the technique of instinctive flow, for the most seasoned, those who manage to hold the blood before finding a toilet.
In order to be totally comfortable, all that remains is to test among these different possibilities.