Periods

So common for the mothers of that era to not want us using tampons! Almost makes one think they were quite happy (or at least okay) about our bodies being allowed to restrict us from quite an early age! Almost feels like they were trying to say "You're not people - you are this lesser thing called a girl/woman".

Many of us must have had to be pretty firm-minded to get round their restrictive mindset....

In fact - I'm remembering my own mother getting shirty with me with "Why DO you talk about your body as if it's not you?". Errrm....that would be because it isn't....and I'm not letting it make my decisions for me...

My mum told me all about them so I was quite prepared for when I had my first one at age 15.

Some of these accounts are quite shocking. I realise that my mother (born in 1920) was very forward thinking for her times.

My mother sat me down and told me in detail about periods and pregnancy when I was nine or ten.

Before that I had seen her packets of sanitary towels in the bathroom cupboard and asked what they were. She replied then that grown women had "periods" that caused bleeding once a month, as it came from the womb, and was all part of being able to have children. At that time, she warned me not to mention it to girls at school, as a lot of parents thought children should not know about such things. She also said, she and my father thought that silly, as it is perfectly natural.

I was coming up for thirteen when I had my first period - but for most of the preceeding year I had noticed that once a month my underpants were stained a dirty yellow colour in the course of three or four hours and stank of ammonia.

This was presumed by my doctor father to be a part of puberty, although he admitted he had not encountered it before, but said he assumed that was because mothers of girls my age "didn't think it was nice to discuss it with the doctor".

I imagine he was right about that.

My periods were always very heavy - no surprise there as my mother's were too.

Tampons were "only for married women", not that I would have been able to use one before loosing my virginity, when I remember the pain of that particular happening!

I did use tampons later on, unsuccessfully as no tampon could last more than twenty minutes so they were always reinforced by sanitary towels, a dancer's belt and black underpants!

There is some justice in this world - neither puberty, nor the child-bearing years were fun from the biological point of view, but the menopause was a breeze. My periods stopped shortly after my 50th birthday - no hot flushes or other unpleasantness.

I was 14 , my mum pretty much like everyone else , here's a belt and Dr Whites and keep away from boys . Told nothing but I soon worked out they would arrive every 28 days so I would go and ask her to purchase me pads before they started. You'd think I was asking for 100 pieces of gold .
My dils are open and it's not taboo. They'll often announce in front of everyone that they're on their period and not feeling 100% . My sons will pamper them , fetch the painkillers or hot water bottle . Good for them .
If I'd had a daughter I'd be so different , I'd ensure there were pads /tampons always available so she didn't have to come begging and I'd always be kind . Why were women so cruel to each other , especially Mums 😢

I was playing with my friend Isobel, late afternoon, I was sat on there doorstep and suddenly felt very wet down below, I felt down there and there was blood on my fingers. I told Isobel I had to go home because I thought I was dying. Mum of course said it was nothing to worry about and we went up to the chemist to buy some pads. I told my sisters very proudly that I had become a woman when they came in from work. I was 10 and no one at school believed me.

My mum told me about periods and what to expect and wear but had no idea what they meant and what could happen

Why do you all critisize your Mothers, that was the way it was at that time. I felt no shame, I was really proud. I had become a woman

Betcha the answer to that one at some level "Why were women so cruel to each other, especially Mums" is the last thing they wanted us to do was to think that a body could be a pleasant thing to have (or at least - not a problem to have). Might help keep us away from men after all......cynics 'r us.....

Not just periods though I guess - as I've not forgotten a comment my mother made to me incautiously when I was a young teenager of "I didnt love your father when I married him". Cue for I was absolutely shocked and had taken a message that she did from the way her answer to "How did you meet?" had been she'd looked across the dancefloor and thought "That's my husband over there" and cue for he and another man walked towards her from different directions. Job done....

That got me setting the bar very high at that point and promising myself I didn't want any future man getting told that (in my fathers case by me - who thought he knew that fact = he didnt) and I then found he wouldnt speak to her for weeks because of being lied to basically. Yep...my father was absolutely livid she'd done that to him....it wasnt the woman that was the romantic in that relationship...

Nowt wrong with a "marriage of convenience" if you both know it is - rather than one not realising...

I remember being at the swimming baths with my friend who had 4 older sisters - we went into the toilets and she asked me if I knew what the tampon vending machine was for - we were about 8. As an only child I had no idea so she casually said oh it's for when you bleed every month but no further explanation. I started my periods at about 12 - my mum had a drapers shop and we sold pads and Lillet belts so she gave me them but never explained anything more other than to say well you know what can happen now don't you?! I got pregnant at 16 so I obviously didn't take heed of her 'warning'

I was later starting my period- thirteen, so I had already found out from school friends what to do. My mum and even my two older sisters never said a word!
My mum just gave me a belt and a sanitary pad and said she knew because I'd had tummy ache a few days before!
It wasn't a big deal really- and it was ages, almost a year, before I had another period.
I was relieved more than anything that I could tell my friends and be like them!

I remember my mother sitting me down and telling me about periods when I was nine. She made sure that I wouldn’t suffer the same experience she had in the early fifties when she had her first period at the age of ten. She was naturally terrified and thought she was dying. My very prudish, even by the standard of the time, grandmother gave her the prerequisites and told her that this was what she needed to use and it would happen once a month from now on. A few weeks later, at school, the girls were taken into the hall and a nurse told us all about it, including showing us a sanitary towel, which we passed round: a stick on one by this stage (mid-seventies). We were also given a booklet called Very Personally Yours, which was sponsored by Kotex. Despite my mother being concerned that I might start early, as she had, I was a fairly late developer and started when I was fourteen. It was still considered a private, confidential matter even in the seventies and the pads were still thick and uncomfortable, even though they were stick ons. I progressed to Lilets within the year. Apart from a few tummy aches as a teenager on the first day, I was fairly lucky with my periods until I was 49 when, all of a sudden, I had continual, heavy bleeding for months. This had happened to my mother and her sister at a simple age so I wasn’t entirely surprised. They both had hysterectomies but I had a newer, less invasive technique called a womb ablation, which stopped everything. Apart from the occasional hot flush, which only briefly affected my face, the only menopause symptom I had was no more periods - bliss.

On an amusing note, my husband is a few years older than me and was a child of the sixties when Dr. Kildare was a very popular TV show. One day he was playing at being Dr. Kildare in the garden with his next door neighbours. His mother looked out and was horrified to see that he had used one of her sanitary towels as his surgical mask - the loops fitted on his ears perfectly.

Came as a total shock to me. Mother provided me with a belt and pads, removed used ones and provided new ones each month. No real understanding until we were given a booklet at school. I was told in no uncertain terms that if I got pregnant I would be sent away. Never had much of a relationship with my mother in later life but I did make sure she was well cared for.

I don’t remember my mother telling me, but she must have done, because I didn’t get a shock when my periods started at age 11, last term of junior school. It had been talked about a lot in the school playground (small all girls school), and because I was the first to start, I was the object of much envy and admiration!

Later I had a friend who had been told nothing, and evidently periods hadn’t been talked about in her junior school. She thought she was dying. It is really unforgivable not to make sure girls know what to expect.

I was lucky as started late and being summer born most of my friends had already started. My mother considered it dirty and shameful and tried to insist I used thick pads and plastic/rubber pants with them.
I wanted to use tampons as according to the adverts in magazines you could swim and play tennis. She was horrified and said I would have to buy them myself as she wouldn't. Luckily I never had any problems.
I decided that I would be open with my daughters and granddaughters and even now make sure there is an emergency pack in my bathroom for when they visit (the modern pads are so much better)

My mother told me about periods and I realised years later that the little paper bag she always had with her must have contained the necessary belt and pads. She gave them to me to take before I went to Guide Camp when I was about 13 and that’s when I realised in a coach trip to a Scottish Castle, I’d started. I dealt with it without telling Captain: at least two other Guides also started at that Camp but had to be taken by Captain to a chemist, a distance away, to get the necessary bits and pieces. Be Prepared!!

Great discussion : I cant remember how old I was but I was given a sanitary towel/pad and belt. The pad itself had two holes at the top and clipped through the belt. I remember my Dad going to the shop to get some pads for me and I was embarrassed by that. My mum told me that it only takes five minutes to ruin your life and I didn't understand what she meant. I used to hate those 'glug' moments and went onto Lillets. When I went on to the Pill (much to my parents disgust when they discovered them in my bag) my periods were ok and lighter. I called it red week.. I remember coming home with my Dad standing in front of the fireplace saying that 'he understood I was having sexual relations'. I was engaged at the time.
I stayed on the pill for many years and didn't even know I had had my menopause. I had two sons so didn't have the 'period' chat and Im sure my DIL will be very informative to my two grand daughters.

I really don't remember exactly. I do know my best friend started her period at 10 and she wasn't aware. She sat with her knees up on the sofa and I saw blood on her knickers, I know I quite casually said ' I think you have come on' and was not shocked at all. Her mum was in and did make a much of it just gave her a pad and showed her how to put it on. This would have been around 1966.

My mother didn’t tell me anything in advance so I was scared stiff when I woke one morning before school to find I had ‘started’! I told my mum who gave me the requisite Dr White’s plus belt and a little pink book about the birds and the bees. That was it! I remember being quite shocked by the book which had something about ‘when a man and a woman love each other very much’ in it!! Luckily my best friend started her periods the same week so we worked it all out between us. We must have had some sort of sex education at school as I remember a text book with a full frontal picture of a man in it and thinking ‘I’m never letting anything like that near me’!! Such innocent times.

Flakesdayout
five minutes to ruin your life did that include the post coiltal cigarette 😂

#aggie I think the be careful was equivalent to my mother warning me to stay away from boys. I was 11, was handed a sanitary towel and told the previous about boys. I thought I would die from bleeding to death. Thank heavens it's all so much better and open now.

It was 1972, when I was about twelve, and in my first year at secondary school.

My mother hadn't told me anything about periods, but luckily my primary school had given all us girls a full afternoon lesson in our last term which covered that, as well as showing us a film of a woman actually giving birth to a baby! There was no way I would have told my mum about it as I knew she would have been very embarrassed about discussing it.

We also covered basic sex education in science lessons in the first or second term in secondary school, so I knew roughly what to expect.

I was at school the day my periods started. I packed my pants with a wad of rolled-up toilet paper. I dreaded having to tell my mum, but I had no option since I had no proper protection to use and no money to buy any myself. It turned out that Mum was prepared, as she took me to her bedroom and handed me a pack of stick-on pads. But apart from that and asking me once or twice how I felt, that was that. At the same time, she started giving me a monthly allowance and made it clear that I must buy my own sanitary products out of that. That suited me, as I didn't want to have to keep telling her when I needed them, or possibly even justify how many I was using!

My periods were horrendous - long, heavy very frequent and painful, but I struggled on in silence, as I had no more desire to tell my mother than she would have had discuss it.

Whenever I had my period at school ,I was terrified of bleeding through my protection and it being visible to everyone, even though I used both tampons and towels at the same time, and even kept using thick wads of toilet paper too as an extra precaution. I would panic every time I felt a heavy gush.

In fact, periods ruined a huge chunk of my teenage years as there was so much I couldn't or didn't dare to do because of them.

In my mid-forties, the GP who I had gone to see for some completely unrelated reason spotted that I was extremely anaemic . That led to my being fitted with the mirena coil, and I have never had another period since. Bliss!!!

My mum was prepared but hadn't told me anything. It was the Summer holidays before I started senior school, I went to the loo and thought I was dying! It just wasn't something her generation talked about.

we had a film at school that consisted mostly of dire warnings never to wash your hair during a period !!!