Tag: menstruation

‘That’s an option?’: Patient gets a Pap smear during menstrual cycle. The OB-GYN asks if they want their flow ‘scooped out’

A TikTok claim has gone viral after a creator said that during a routine Pap smear, while they happened to be on their period, their OB-GYN offered to shorten or eliminate the rest of their cycle by “scooping it out.”

The idea spread quickly, raising eyebrows across TikTok. Several medical professionals have since weighed in with concerns and explanations, but for some women, the concept alone sounded tempting.

That reaction is exactly what TikTok creator Ali shared in a video that’s now gotten more than 3.1 million views.

Where the ‘Scooping’ Claim Came From

The original claim came from TikTok creator @cuntymeme, who posted a video saying they were offered the option during a Pap smear. According to them, however, the original video has since been removed by TikTok.

Ali references that now-deleted clip directly in her own video. “Did y’all see the video of the girl talking about how she went to get a Pap smear and she was on her period,” she says, before getting to the part that caught everyone’s attention. “And the doctor asked her if she wants her to scoop it out.”

She repeats herself with disbelief. “Scoop it out,” she says, “I check the comments, and a doctor confirmed that you can scoop it out.

The idea seems exciting to her. “I would like to be scooped out once a month, please. Thank you.”

Doctors Say This Isn’t What It Sounds Like

That’s where medical professionals stepped in to clarify what people were actually hearing.

In a response video, one OB-GYN breaks down the claim carefully. “Yeah, she scooped it out. And since that, I haven’t been right since,” she jokes, before getting serious. “My sisters in Christ and science, I hear you when you say that you don’t want a period.”

But then she draws a clear line. “Can we as OB-GYNs scoop you out so that you don’t bleed? Now, this is not the standard of care that I have ever encountered or read about.”

Based on the patient’s description, she explains that what likely happened was an endometrial biopsy, a procedure that removes a small amount of tissue from the uterus for diagnostic reasons. “Is this the standard of care to make someone’s period stop? Absolutely not,” she says. “I have never heard of that.”

She stresses that while she believes the patient went through something, it’s not a recommended or routine way to manage menstruation. Still, she notes that the viral moment opens the door to a real conversation many patients want to have.

What Menstrual Suppression Actually Looks Like

The doctor said there are safe ways to stop or reduce one’s menstrual cycle, menstrual suppression, which she describes as using medical options to reduce or stop periods safely. “Contrary to popular belief, this is not bad for you,” she says, adding that she hasn’t had a period in two years thanks to a hormonal IUD.

She explains that options like the Mirena IUD or taking birth control pills continuously are commonly recommended for patients who don’t want monthly bleeding. “You actually don’t have to have that withdrawal bleed at the end of your pack,” she says, explaining that skipping the placebo week is medically acceptable for many people.

What she’s clear about is what isn’t necessary. “No, you don’t have to go to your OB-GYN every month to get scooped out,” she says. “You can just not have any tissue to begin with.”

@alinunu_ SCOOPED OUT?! Is crazyyyyy #explorepage✨ ♬ original sound – Ali nunu??

In the comments, healthcare workers braced themselves. “I work at an OB-GYN and I’m WAITING for these calls on Monday,” one person wrote.

Others pushed back on the framing. “Girl as someone who works in surgery, a D&C is not fun,” another commenter wrote. “Lol we don’t scoop it out we SCRAPE it out.”

Some shared personal experiences that added some nuance. “My Dr after my C-sections said, ‘hey I cleaned it out a bit while I’m there’ so the bleeding shouldn’t be terrible,” one person wrote. “It truly wasn’t. Love her.”

And of course, others leaned into the fantasy. “I would pay a monthly subscription for this service. Stg,” one commenter joked.

The Mary Sue has reached out to @cuntymeme and Ali via TikTok messages for additional comment.

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Ljeonida Mulabazi

Ljeonida is a reporter and writer with a degree in journalism and communications from the University of Tirana in her native Albania. She has a particular interest in all things digital marketing; she considers herself a copywriter, content producer, SEO specialist, and passionate marketer. Ljeonida is based in Tbilisi, Georgia, and her work can also be found at the Daily Dot.

Ljeonida Mulabazi

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January 6, 2026
This Birth-Control App Aims to Serve a Women’s Health Taboo—With a Multibillion Dollar Market

Elina Berglund, the co-founder and co-CEO of Natural Cycles, was user zero for the first-ever FDA-cleared birth control app. Now she’s building for the next phase of her life—and the lives of millions of other women. On Tuesday, Natural Cycles launched its long-awaited product for women who are navigating what she calls the “black box” of perimenopause.

“We want to be the trusted partners of women as they go through these different stages throughout their reproductive life. If they are in need of natural birth control, we are there for them—when they plan a pregnancy, as they go through pregnancy, postpartum,” Berglund says. “What’s really been missing is the perimenopause mode.”

Perimenopause refers to the period of time when a woman’s body transitions from having menstrual cycles to menopause. It typically occurs in a woman’s 40s, but can begin as early as her mid-30s or as late as her 50s. Women spend on average about four years in perimenopause but it can last as long as eight, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It is characterized by irregular periods, mood changes, and sleep disruptions, among other things.

“It’s such an important part of a woman’s reproductive journey that really affects her body, her health, her mind,” Berglund says.

An Inc.com Featured Presentation

Natural Cycles’ latest offering, called NC Perimenopause, uses a proprietary algorithm to analyze users’ cycle patterns, symptoms and biometrics such as temperature and heart rate to read hormonal shifts. The algorithm can help determine whether a user may be in perimenopause and her likely stage. The window Natural Cycles provides women into perimenopause can help them understand the nature and severity of their symptoms and determine whether lifestyle or medical interventions—like hormone replacement therapy—may be in order.

Photo: Courtesy company

“It’s a field where there’s so much uncertainty. Many women [are] feeling they’re going crazy, and it’s hard when they go to their doctor,” Berglund says. “Since the hormones change so much, whatever you measure that day is not really giving the full picture, but we can follow women over time.”

The release of the perimenopause product brings the number of Natural Cycles’ offerings available in the app to five. Alongside the flagship Birth Control mode, there is Plan Pregnancy, Follow Pregnancy, Postpartum, and now Perimenopause. As the company grows its offerings, its user base is growing, too. Berglund says Natural Cycles recently reached over 5 million registered users. The company is based in Stockholm, Sweden, but has offices in New York City and Geneva; it has 150 employees total. In 2018, it became the first mobile medical app to achieve clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for marketing as a contraception method.

The company, which is profitable, achieved 70 percent growth in its annual recurring revenue (ARR) in 2024 and has a goal of hitting $100 million in sales by the end of this year.

Alongside the Perimenopause mode in the Natural Cycles app, the company also released its first wearable, the NC Band, which is meant to be worn at night and measure heart rate and temperature as a proxy for hormones. Berglund says the band is available to existing Natural Cycles users and for new perimenopause users for now. It costs $99.99 for existing users, or $49.99 with purchase of a Natural Cycles annual plan. Natural Cycles is eligible for reimbursement by a variety of health insurance providers.

Berglund says she was inspired and motivated by her users to create a perimenopause offering. As millennials approach and enter into perimenopause, she says, they are demanding more and tend to be bolder than past generations in discussing their experiences.

“We have quite a few women that have been with us for a decade, and many of them are now in their 40s,” she says. “They’re seeing what’s going on, but they’re asking for something more, and that’s what we want to do.”

Despite the fact that women spend a significant portion of their lives in perimenopause, there is comparatively little support or education around it. A 2023 survey found that more than 80 percent of women had received no menopause education in school whatsoever. Plus, a separate 2023 survey of OBGYN residency program directors noted that more than 90 percent agreed that residents should have access to standardized menopause curriculum, but only about a third actually did. It comes as little surprise then that there is expected to be a surge in the market for menopause-related products, including dietary supplements and other over-the-counter support products. Research and Markets noted in July that the global menopause market could reach $24.35 billion by 2030.

Berglund is also working to destigmatize perimenopause and menopause through education. As with the other modes, Natural Cycles offers educational resources, science-backed guides and AI-generated insights for women, and can support women through medical or natural interventions.

“Until now, [perimenopause has] been very taboo,” Berglund says. “But we’re trying to put a more empowering spin on the whole thing, because life doesn’t end at 40 for us. There’s so many amazing decades left.”

It’s a realization that Berglund, 41, has come to herself, as well. During the process of testing out the perimenopause algorithm, Berglund discovered she was in early perimenopause.

“I feel good about it. My symptoms make sense,” she says. “I’m curious for what will come next as I go through this lifetime. I kind of look forward to also not needing birth control one day. I’m happy with the children I have.”

Chloe Aiello

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October 14, 2025
Toxic metals including lead and arsenic found in multiple tampon brands

Tampons from many different brands may contain potentially harmful metals, a new study found.

Researchers assessed tampons from 14 different brands and found “measurable concentrations” of all 16 metals that they tested for, according to the study, published last week in the Environment International journal. Metals that are considered toxic, including lead, arsenic and cadmium, were found in some of the tampons.

Exposure to metals has been found to increase the risk of dementia, infertility, diabetes and cancer, according to a news release from the University of California, Berkeley. Metals can also damage the liver, kidneys, brain, fetal development and maternal health. They can also harm the cardiovascular, nervous and endocrine systems.

Tampons can contain metals from agricultural or manufacturing processes. For example, the cotton material could absorb the metals from water, air, soil or a nearby contaminant. Or companies may intentionally add metals during the manufacturing process as part of a pigment or antibacterial agent, according to researchers.

Tampons serve as a “particular concern” when it comes to potential sources of exposure to chemicals and metals, according to UC Berkeley, because the skin of the vagina has a higher potential for chemical absorption. Furthermore, a large portion of the population uses tampons — between 52% and 86% of people in the United States who menstruate use them, usually for hours at a time, according to researchers.

“Despite this large potential for public health concern, very little research has been done to measure chemicals in tampons,” Jenni A. Shearston, the lead author of the study and a postdoctoral scholar at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, said in the release. “To our knowledge, this is the first paper to measure metals in tampons. Concerningly, we found concentrations of all metals we tested for, including toxic metals like arsenic and lead.”

In the study, researchers evaluated 30 tampons from 14 different brands for the following 16 metals: arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, nickel, lead, selenium, strontium, vanadium and zinc. Study authors did not specify which tampon brands they tested, but said that they selected products listed as “top sellers” on a major online retailer as well as “store-brand” products. The products were purchased between September 2022 and March 2023 in New York City; London, England; and Athens, Greece.

Metal concentrations varied based on where the tampons were purchased, whether they were organic, and whether they were store-brand or name-brand products. But metals were present in all types of tampons and no category had consistently lower metal concentrations. Lead was found in all tampons tested, researchers say. Lead concentrations were higher in non-organic tampons, but arsenic was higher in organic tampons, the study found.

The study authors point out that the governing bodies in the the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union — where they purchased tampons for the study — have regulations surrounding tampons that are “not extensive” and they do not require regular product testing. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration classifies tampons as medical devices and regulates their safety, but there is no requirement to test them for chemical contaminants. The researchers hope the findings of this study will help contribute to change in the industry.

“I really hope that manufacturers are required to test their products for metals, especially for toxic metals,” Shearston said. “It would be exciting to see the public call for this, or to ask for better labeling on tampons and other menstrual products.”

Franki Rudnesky

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July 8, 2024
Headache and Migraine Relief from Foods | NutritionFacts.org

Plant-based diets are put to the test for treating migraine headaches.

Headaches are one of the top five reasons people end up in emergency rooms and one of the leading reasons people see their doctors in general. One way to try to prevent them is to identify their triggers and avoid them. Common triggers for migraines include stress, smoking, hunger, sleep issues, certain foods (like chocolate, cheese, and alcohol), your menstrual cycle, or certain weather patterns (like high humidity).

In terms of dietary treatments, the so-called Father of Modern Medicine, William Osler suggested trying a “strict vegetable diet.” After all, the nerve inflammation associated with migraines “may be reduced by a vegan diet as many plant foods are high in anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidants, and likewise, meat products have been reported to have inflammatory properties.” It wasn’t put to the test, though, for another 117 years.

As I discuss in my video Friday Favorites: Foods That Help Headache and Migraine Relief, among study participants given a placebo supplement, half said they got better, while the other half said they didn’t. But, when put on a strictly plant-based diet, they did much better, experiencing a significant drop in the severity of their pain, as you can see in the graph below and at 1:08 in my video.

Now, “it is possible that the pain-reducing effects of the vegan diet may be, at least in part, due to weight reduction.” The study participants lost about nine more pounds when they were on the plant-based diet for a month, as shown below, and at 1:22.

Even just lowering the fat content of the diet may help. Those placed on a month of consuming less than 30 daily grams of fat (for instance, less than two tablespoons of oil all day), experienced “statistically significant decreases in headache frequency, intensity, duration, and medication intake”—a six-fold decrease in the frequency and intensity, as you can see below and at 1:44 in my video. They went from three migraine attacks every two weeks down to just one a month. And, by “low fat,” the researchers didn’t mean SnackWell’s; they meant more fruits, vegetables, and beans. Before the food industry co-opted and corrupted the term, eating “low fat” meant eating an apple, for example, not Kellogg’s Apple Jacks.

Now, they were on a low-fat diet—about 10 percent fat for someone eating 2,500 calories a day. What about just less than 20 percent fat compared to a more normal diet that’s still relatively lower fat than average? As you can see below and at 2:22 in my video, the researchers saw the same significant drops in headache frequency and severity, including a five-fold drop in attacks of severe pain. Since the intervention involved at least a halving of intake of saturated fat, which is mostly found in meat, dairy, and junk, the researchers concluded that reduced consumption of saturated fat may help control migraine attacks—but it isn’t necessarily something they’re getting less of. There are compounds “present in Live green real veggies” that might bind to a migraine-triggering peptide known as calcitonin gene-related peptide, CGRP.

Drug companies have been trying to come up with something that binds to CGRP, but the drugs have failed to be effective. They’re also toxic, which is a problem we don’t have with cabbage, as you can see below and at 3:01 in my video.

Green vegetables also have magnesium. Found throughout the food supply but most concentrated in green leafy vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, magnesium is the central atom to chlorophyll, as shown below and at 3:15. So, you can see how much magnesium foods have in the produce aisle by the intensity of their green color. Although magnesium supplements do not appear to decrease migraine severity, they may reduce the number of attacks you get in the first place. You can ask your doctor about starting 600 mg of magnesium dicitrate every day, but note that magnesium supplements can cause adverse effects, such as diarrhea, so I recommend getting it the way nature intended—in the form of real food, not supplements.

Any foods that may be particularly helpful? You may recall that I’ve talked about ground ginger. What about caffeine? Indeed, combining caffeine with over-the-counter painkillers, like Tylenol, aspirin, or ibuprofen, may boost their efficacy, at doses of about 130 mg for tension-type headaches and 100 mg for migraines. That’s about what you might expect to get in three cups of tea, as you can see below, and at 4:00 in my video. (I believe it is just a coincidence that the principal investigator of this study was named Lipton.)

Please note that you can overdo it. If you take kids and teens with headaches who were drinking 1.5 liters of cola a day and cut the soda, you can cure 90 percent of them. However, this may be a cola effect rather than a caffeine effect.

And, finally, one plant food that may not be the best idea is the Carolina Reaper, the hottest chili pepper in the world. It’s so mind-numbingly hot it can clamp off the arteries in your brain, as seen below and at 4:41 in my video, and you can end up with a “thunderclap headache,” like the 34-year-old man who ate the world’s hottest pepper and ended up in the emergency room. Why am I not surprised it was a man?

I’ve previously covered ginger and topical lavender for migraines. Saffron may help relieve PMS symptoms, including headaches. A more exotic way a plant-based diet can prevent headaches is by helping to keep tapeworms out of your brain.

Though hot peppers can indeed trigger headaches, they may also be used to treat them. Check out my video on relieving cluster headaches with hot sauce.

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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June 13, 2024
Can Marijuana’s CBD Help With Menopause Symptoms

Like death and taxes, menopause is something women can not avoid. “The Change.” is the phrase which makes women of all ages shudder. A majority will experience the effects of menopause, from hot flashes to anxiety and depression to night sweats and more. Can marijuana’s CBD help with menopause symptoms. Anecdotal evidence is pouring in, however, cannabis, and specifically CBD, can alleviate many of the symptoms and provide much needed comfort.

Let’s start with what is menopause. There are three stages: perimenopause, when the female body’s production of estrogen slows, can last for one to two years. Menopause officially begins when a woman has not menstruated in over a year; and post menopause is the time after menopause has officially ended, but hot flashes and night sweats can still occur for up to a couple years later.

RELATED: 4 Cannabis Products To Quell Monster Menstrual Cramps

So what is a woman to do with a potential collection of years of menopausal symptoms? Reports are on the rise smoking high CBD cannabis or even using straight CBD products does wonders for a woman in any stage of the menopause. It helps to ease anxiety and depression, which is not surprising, as many have turned to CBD to combat these disorders on their own.

But the lessening of hot flashes and night sweats are the really exciting bits. A hot flash is one of the most unpleasant collection of moments a woman has to bear in her natural life. Thankfully, a hot flash doesn’t last long, but it does push a heat wave through the upper body and face and often comes with a flash of hot rage on the side.

Having a CBD vape pen on you during menopause is definitely a good idea. When a hot flash seems to be taking over your being, step away from what you’re doing or who you’re talking to and have a few good draws. Women across the globe are reporting the miraculous relief they’re experiencing using CBD.

RELATED: People Who Use Weed Also Do More Of Another Fun Thing

Another option is to ingest CBD in the form of gummies or other edibles for an effect which lasts for hours. Though you’ll likely need to take a slightly higher dose than you normally would for day to day mellowness and aches and pains, CBD and cannabis itself are both nontoxic, meaning you just can’t overdo it. You can waste product by eating more CBD than is needed, easily, but you can’t overdose on it.

These revelations should come as a relief to women of all ages. Whether passing down the knowledge to the next generation or educating a parent or even learning for oneself, having a method of strong relief of the symptoms literally keep one up at night is beyond a blessing.

Mary Schumacher

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October 24, 2023
For transgender kids, a frantic rush for treatment amid bans

SALT LAKE CITY — As a third grader in Utah, mandolin-playing math whiz Elle Palmer said aloud what she had only before sensed, telling a friend she planned to transfer schools the following year and hoped her new classmates would see her as a girl.

Several states northeast, Asher Wilcox-Broekemeier listened to punk rock in his room, longing to join the shirtless boys from the neighborhood playing beneath the South Dakota sunshine. It wasn’t until menstruation started, and the disconnect with his body grew, that he knew he was one of them.

Both kids’ realizations started their families on a yearslong path of doctors, therapists and other experts in transgender medicine.

Now teenagers, their journeys have hit a roadblock.

Republican lawmakers across the country are banning gender-affirming care for minors. Restrictions have gone into effect in eight states this year — including conservative Utah and South Dakota — and are slated to in at least nine more by next year.

Those who oppose gender-affirming care raise fears about the long-term effects treatments have on teens, argue research is limited and focus particularly on irreversible procedures such as genital surgery or mastectomies.

Yet those are rare. Doctors typically guide kids toward therapy or voice coaching long before medical intervention. At that point, puberty blockers, anti-androgens that block the effects of testosterone, and hormone treatments are far more common than surgery. They have been available in the United States for more than a decade and are standard treatments backed by major doctors’ organizations including the American Medical Association.

The new laws have parents scrambling to secure the care their kids need. They worry what will happen if they can’t get the medications they’ve been prescribed, especially as their kids start puberty and their bodies change in ways that can’t be reversed.

“My body’s basically this ticking time bomb, just sitting there waiting for it to go off,” said Asher Wilcox-Broekemeier, now 13. ___

Elle remembers her first day at the school after she transferred. Before leaving, she came downstairs in rainbow sparkle-embroidered cowboy boots her mother worried would only spur bullies. Taunts from kids at Elle’s prior school drove her into depression so deep she had suicidal thoughts.

But on that first day, a boy told Elle he loved her boots. Some kids bullied her, but classmates and teachers were far more supportive than at her prior school. Elle discovered new passions in hip hop and drama class, and she settled into a new school and a truer version of herself. She started to see a therapist as her uncertainty about how she fit in the gender spectrum grew more pressing.

Elle came out as a transgender girl in fifth grade. Now in seventh, she planned to start hormone treatment this summer so potential side effects wouldn’t interfere with her life during the school year, especially her team’s extracurricular math competitions.

But then Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a gender-affirming care ban in January. In a compromise, the law let kids keep taking medications if they were already on them. So Elle’s mom rushed to get her treatment months earlier than planned, as did other parents.

The waitlist at one Utah clinic swelled to six months. Doctors were confronted with difficult decisions about who to get in for appointments.

Elle’s medication arrived in the mail just before Utah’s law went into effect. A small stick implanted in Elle’s forearm is slow-releasing hormone blockers to prevent the effects of male puberty from taking hold. Eventually she may be prescribed estrogen, and she and her parents will have to navigate the next steps, and whether they’ll find doctors to continue her care.

At least for now, they have a reprieve.

“It feels like we can breathe again now,” Cat Palmer said. ___

There’s no relief for Asher Wilcox-Broekemeier’s family — not yet.

When Asher began menstruating, he felt a terrifying disconnect between how his body was changing on the outside and how he felt inside.

Elizabeth began researching online to understand what was going on with her son, while Asher’s father, Brian, looked to doctors for expertise. With referrals from his longtime pediatrician, Asher met with therapists and doctors who helped explore his history, personality and feelings over his whole life.

Nearly two years ago, doctors prescribed puberty blockers and birth control to slow breast development, regulate menstruation and lower the pressure of his disconnect with his body.

He’s 13 now, and finds solace in music to ground him in a world of occasional bullying and constant mistaken pronouns. He practices Blink-182’s “All the Small Things” on guitar, plays trumpet in the school band and is rehearsing various singing roles for the Cinderella school musical. When he’s not thinking about testosterone to lower his voice or eventually getting top surgery, he looks forward to playing in the high school marching band next year.

Asher still struggles with moments of gender dysphoria. Friendships that were once strong fizzled after Asher came out as transgender. Parents have disinvited him from their houses out of fears he’s a “bad influence.”

But his parents have noticed his emotions stabilize through his treatment.

“From a parent’s view, I see him as being able to be himself authentically, which is wonderful for him,” Elizabeth said.

Now he and his parents worry they’ll have to start over.

In February, South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem signed a law banning the medications and procedures that doctors have increasingly prescribed for transgender teens.

Asher’s current doctors in South Dakota won’t be able to prescribe his medications, so the family is looking for a new doctor in neighboring Minnesota, where the Democratic governor has signed an executive order explicitly protecting gender-affirming care for minors. They’re hoping to find a clinic close enough they can drive to appointments and don’t have to pay for hotel stays.

The planning has been time-consuming. Logistical questions to their current South Dakota doctors for referrals have gone unanswered. They want to beat whatever onslaught of patients from other states enacting similar bans will bring to providers in Minnesota, but also want to maintain as much normalcy for Asher as they can.

The sudden twists in Asher’s trajectory makes him question why his health care is of concern to politicians.

“Even though trans people don’t make up a big percent of the population doesn’t mean that we’re not part of it still,” Asher said. ___

The full consequences of the bans on care for minors aren’t yet clear.

Dr. Nikki Mihalopoulos, an adolescent medicine doctor in a Salt Lake City specialty clinic with transgender teens, worries the new laws will make families too scared to seek help and doctors too scared of losing their licenses to provide care.

In the middle are kids like Elle and Asher.

Multiple studies have shown that transgender youth are more likely to consider or attempt suicide and less at risk for depression and suicidal behaviors when able to access gender-affirming care.

Both sets of parents are trying to shelter their kids from the stress and anxiety caused by the recent changes in the laws.

After years of worrying about their kids’ safety and mental health, they still fear what could happen if they can’t find the drugs their kids have been prescribed.

“My kid being OK is my number one priority. I know what the suicide rate is. I do not want my child to be a statistic,” Cat Palmer said of Elle.

___

Biraben reported from Pierre, South Dakota.

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April 22, 2023
Say Goodbye to Your Period? There Are Options

SOURCES:

American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology: “Your First Gynecologic Visit,” “General Approaches to Medical Management of Menstrual Suppression.”

American Association for Cancer Research: “Time-Dependent Effects of Oral Contraceptive Use on Breast, Ovarian, and Endometrial Cancers.”

Western Journal of Medicine: “Myths and variations in normal pubertal development.”

National Cancer Institute: “Oral Contraceptives and Cancer Risk.”

Neurology: “Sex Hormones and Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide in Women With Migraine: A Cross-sectional, Matched Cohort Study.”

Guttmacher Institute: “An Overview of Consent to Reproductive Health Services by Young People.”

Krishna Upadhya, MD, adolescent medicine specialist; vice president of quality care and health equity, Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Sloane Berger-Chen, MD, gynecologist specializing in pediatric and adolescent reproductive health, University of California, San Francisco.

Julia Cron, MD, chief, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, New York City.

Shazia Chowdhury.

Sarah Bramblette, board chair, Lymphedema Advocacy Group; co-chair, Obesity Action Coalition’s Access to Care Committee, Miami.

Charles Thompson, MD, director, obstetrics and gynecology residency program, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock.

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April 6, 2023
Florida may ban girls’ period talk in elementary grades

Legislation moving in the Florida House would ban discussion of menstrual cycles and other human sexuality topics in elementary grades

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Legislation moving in the Florida House would ban discussion of menstrual cycles and other human sexuality topics in elementary grades.

The bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Stan McClain would restrict public school instruction on human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases and related topics to grades 6 through 12. McClain confirmed at a recent committee meeting that discussions about menstrual cycles would also be restricted to those grades.

“So if little girls experience their menstrual cycle in 5th grade or 4th grade, will that prohibit conversations from them since they are in the grade lower than sixth grade?” asked state Rep. Ashley Gantt, a Democrat who taught in public schools and noted that girls as young as 10 can begin having periods.

“It would,” McClain responded.

The GOP-backed legislation cleared the House Education Quality Subcommittee on Wednesday by a 13-5 vote mainly along party lines. It would also allow parents to object to books and other materials their children are exposed to, require schools to teach that a person’s sexual identity is determined biologically at birth and set up more scrutiny of certain educational materials by the state Department of Education.

McClain said the bill’s intent is to bring uniformity to sex education across all of Florida’s 67 school districts and provide more pathways for parents to object to books or other materials they find inappropriate for younger children.

At the committee meeting, Gantt asked whether teachers could face punishment if they discuss menstruation with younger students.

“My concern is they won’t feel safe to have those conversations with these little girls,” she said.

McClain said “that would not be the intent” of the bill and that he is “amenable” to some changes to its language. The measure must be approved by another committee before it can reach the House floor; a similar bill is pending in the Senate.

An email seeking comment was sent Saturday to the office of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely seen as a potential 2024 presidential candidate.

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March 18, 2023
‘Last Of Us’ Creator Compares Ellie’s Menstrual Cup To Guns, And Makes A Good Point

“The Last of Us” is subverting what audiences assume are important items in a postapocalyptic scenario.

In Episode 6, the show’s central characters, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) are introduced to Maria (Rutina Wesley), a woman who is revealed to be the wife of Joel’s long-lost brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna).

Rutina Wesley as Maria in Episode 6 of “The Last of Us.”

In one scene, Maria leaves 14-year-old Ellie a few essential things on top of a bed that will likely aid her in a postindustrial world brimming with fungal zombies. This includes new clothes and what appears to be a DivaCup.

What makes the scene significant is the show’s decision to handle this lesser-known and reusable period product in a very understated way. Ellie picks up the menstrual cup along with a pamphlet and reads its instructions.

“Oh,” she says, seemingly a little surprised and impressed by it. She then squishes it a bit before folding it like the directions instruct and amusingly says, “Gross.”

“The Last of Us” showrunner Craig Mazin explained to Vulture why there was a lack of hand-holding during the menstrual cup scene.

He told the entertainment site that they used a real DIvaCup pamphlet for the scene and used special effects to make the words “menstrual solution” slightly larger on the paperwork so audiences could read the tiny font a little better, but decided to end any further explanation beyond that.

A menstrual cup could be quite useful in a postapocalyptic situation.

Volanthevist via Getty Images

“It goes by very quickly,” he told Vulture. “The intention was that if you don’t know what it is, you can ask someone or you can Google. It’s more for the people who do know what it is.”

He added: “We do this all the time in shows with things like guns. People don’t know how to load guns, and we don’t explain it to them. Why should we have to explain this?”

This isn’t the first time the show, which is adapted from the popular video game of the same name, has implied that feminine care products are as much of a score during postapocalyptic foraging as, say, medicine, weapons or cans of food. This diverges from the game, in which a player can up their stats if their characters obtain “collectibles” including supplements, tools and even comics, per a guide published in IGN.

In Episode 3, Ellie finds a dusty package of Tampax Pearl tampons in an abandoned convenience store, remarks “Fuck yeah!” when she grabs them, and proudly shows them off to the hyper-masculine Joel.

Ellie’s no-shame attitude about having a period is pretty revolutionary — especially in a storyline that attracts so many male fans.

Advertising menstrual products on television was banned until 1972. After that, ads for tampons and pads used blue liquid to demonstrate the products’ effectiveness. The idea of menstruation on TV was so taboo that it was considered edgy when Courteney Cox, before her “Friends” fame, was the first to use the word “period” in an ad during a 1985 Tampax commercial, The Cut points out. Popular brand Kotex became one of the first major menstrual product companies to use red liquid that resembles blood in their ads in 2020.

Mazin explained to Vulture that he was inspired to add period products to the already well-established canon of things one would find handy after zombies have overtaken the world while buying tampons for his wife and daughter at a Target during the COVID pandemic. He told the site that he was contemplating how many boxes to grab, when he realized it would be an interesting new layer to add to the video game’s adaptation.

“These are basic items that we’d need or would want,” he said. “In a postapocalypse, it’s annoying to have to deal with that and have a shortage of options. Why wouldn’t we show it? Especially because our co-lead is a 14-year-old girl. This is part of her life!”

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February 20, 2023
White House criticizes Youngkin over menstrual tracking bill

RICHMOND, Va. — The White House rebuked Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin this week for supporting state lawmakers’ rejection of a bill that that would have prohibited police from issuing search warrants for digitized data about women’s menstrual cycles.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Friday that the Republican governor’s push to block the bill at a time when abortion access is diminishing “attacks the principles of freedom and a woman’s fundamental right to privacy,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

Virginia’s Democrat-controlled state Senate had passed the bill 31-9, with nine Republicans joining Democrats to send it to the House, where Republicans hold a majority. A Republican-controlled House subcommittee voted along party lines Monday to table the measure, with Youngkin’s support.

Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter defended the governor’s position to the Times-Dispatch and said the data-gathering limits that Democrats had proposed were “unsafe.”

State Sen. Barbara Favola, an Arlington Democrat and the bill’s sponsor, told the Times-Dispatch on Friday that the proposed measure was needed to protect women’s privacy against the backdrop of “these very serious, very draconian abortion bans” nationwide.

Hers is among many hot-button bills that have been rejected this year by Virginia’s divided legislature as the state prepares to vote this fall on all 140 General Assembly seats.

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February 18, 2023
COVID-19 Vaccine May Change, Lengthen Menstrual Cycles

Oct. 6, 2022 – Pamela Jock has always had regular periods, even as she rounded 50 and knew perimenopause was on the horizon. But shortly after receiving the second of a two-series COVID-19 vaccine in June 2020, her cycle began to change. At 52, it could indeed be perimenopause, but Jock had to wonder if the vaccine might have played a role. It turns out, the answer to her speculation is “maybe.”

A new study, recently published in The BMJ, did a deep dive into the possible link between the COVID vaccine and irregular periods. The investigation, led by Alison Edelman, MD, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon Health & Science University, was prompted by more than 30,000 reports of cycle changes to the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Using data from a period-tracking app called Natural Cycles, the study pulled in numbers from more than 20,000 women from around the world. The researchers considered the three menstrual cycles prior to vaccination, and at least one cycle after. They compared this to four menstrual cycles in a group that had not received the vaccine.

The results revealed that on average, the vaccinated women got their periods 0.71 days late after the first shot. Those who received two vaccines within one cycle saw an increased cycle length of 4 days, on average. This tracks with Jock’s experience. “My cycle elongated to 30 days, versus my normal 26 days,” she says. “Then I had a gap between cycles of a few months.”

This is where the vaccine-cycle link gets murkier. Given Jock’s age, her big gap between cycles could very well be perimenopause, especially since the study only examined women between the ages of 18 and 45, who already had regular cycles. But Jock still wonders. “After I got my first booster in the fall of 2021, my periods flipped back to normal, showing up every 26 days,” she says. “But they were extremely heavy and I was tired and drained.”

Follow-up bloodwork revealed anemia, potentially as a result. When she asked about a potential vaccine-irregular cycle link, says Jock, “The doctor didn’t think there was a connection, and that it was probably perimenopause.”

What’s Going On

Whether in the age range of the people in the study or beyond, like Jock, the relationship between the COVID vaccine and menstrual cycle changes can stem from several things, says Esther Goldsmith, an exercise physiologist with bio-analytics company Orreco.

“It may be influenced by when in your cycle you have your vaccination,” she says. “We know that changes in estrogen and progesterone in the menstrual cycle can affect the immune system and our immune responses. That’s why I think it’s really interesting that the study shows that those who had two doses in the same cycle were most affected.”

Orreco’s data collection – which often focuses on female athletes – has shown the vaccine can have other impacts, as well, that may play a role.

“We’ve also seen that the vaccine can affect oxidative stress and inflammation, things we measure through point-of-care blood analysis,” Goldsmith says. “Inflammation can influence symptoms, so using inference, the vaccine may also illicit a change in menstrual cycle symptoms.”

Shaghayegh DeNoble, MD, with Advanced Gynecology and Laparoscopy of North Jersey, says she hears from many patients that their periods came later than expected, and/or that they were having heavier than normal periods after the vaccine – as well as after a COVID infection.

“I remind them that many things can change our cycles, including travel, the change of seasons, and stress,” she says. “This happens all the time, and there are no long-term effects. I reassure them their cycles will return to normal.”

The research found that in most cases, normal occurred within one to two cycles after the vaccine, which aligns with what DeNoble’s patients reported, too.

Putting Minds at Ease

While the research may have established a probable connection between the vaccine and abnormal menstrual cycles, Goldsmith and DeNoble both emphasize the shots do not impact fertility.

“I receive so many phone calls from women worrying that because their periods were off, their fertility may be at risk, too,” DeNoble says. “But fertility is not diminished due to the vaccine.”

Jock says she is thankful fertility is not something that matters to her, anymore. “I would probably be worried if it were,” she admits.

Goldsmith says such fears are unwarranted and wants women to put any alarm aside. “An abnormal period is a very natural response to something that is physiologically a big event for your body to deal with,” she says. “Menstrual cycles can be incredibly sensitive to change of all sorts, whether nutrition, lifestyle, stress, or the immune system. We shouldn’t be surprised, therefore, that it will respond to things like vaccines. This probably isn’t a new phenomenon, but it may not have been documented in the past.”

Now armed with the research results, DeNoble says it will be easier to educate patients about what to expect with boosters.

“It’s so important for us to be able to warn patients about potential side effects,” she says, “and it’s also important that we can put their minds at ease.”

Goldsmith recommends that women track their cycles, documenting any changes – vaccine or not.

“We should all pay attention to our cycles and make sure we’re looking after ourselves in these times in order to reduce the stress the body is under,” she says.

While Jock will never know for certain if her irregular cycles were the result of the vaccine or perimenopause, she’s watching what happens when she soon receives the bivalent COVID vaccine. “I’m curious to see if this carries me along the same trajectory,” she says.

Regardless of the inconvenience of an abnormal cycle, Jock has no regrets about getting the vaccine, she says: “I’d much rather stay healthy and avoid COVID.”

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October 6, 2022
The Fibroid Foundation Announces Fibroid Awareness Month 2022
Press Release
–

Jul 6, 2022
WASHINGTON, July 6, 2022 (Newswire.com)
–
The Fibroid Foundation announces the Fibroid Awareness Month event schedule for July 2022. This Year’s Fibroid Awareness Month Theme is ‘Real Solutions.’

Featured events are:

July 7, 2022 at 7:00 PM ET – Fibroids and Fertility

Featuring:

Dr. Ray Anchan, Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility Specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Dr. Sony Singh, Gynecologic Surgeon, Professor in Gynecology at the University of Ottawa & The Ottawa Hospital

Dr. Elizabeth (Ebbie) Stewart, MD, Chair of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility at Mayo Clinic

July 14, 2022 at 7:00 PM ET – From First Flow to Last Flow

Featuring:

Dr. Linda Bradley, Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialist at Cleveland Clinic

Melissa Berton, Founder & Executive Director at The Pad Project

Jennifer Gularson, Board Certified Physician Assistant, Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner

Le’Nise Brothers, Author and Registered Nutritionist Specializing in Hormones & the Menstrual Cycle

July 21, 2022 at 7:00 PM ET – The State of Women’s Health Equity

Featuring:

Dr. Sarah Temkin, Associate Director for Clinical Research at the National Institutes of Health – Office of Research on Women’s Health

Michela Bedard, Executive Director at PERIOD – The Menstrual Movement

July 28, 2022 at 7:00 PM ET – Conversations on Capitol Hill

Featuring legislators who are leading the way to raise awareness and seek funding for fibroid research and education.

Sateria Venable, Founder & CEO of The Fibroid Foundation, will moderate the panels.

Registration for all events can be found here.

Fibroid Awareness Month programming will focus on tangible solutions that support better outcomes and less invasive treatments. Dr. James Segars, Director, Division of Reproductive Science and Women’s Health Research, Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University, authored a 2020 paper which concluded that, “In the subsets of bodily pain, vitality, and social functioning, fibroids were consistently a larger burden than heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and breast cancer.”¹

“In the subsets of bodily pain, vitality, and social functioning, fibroids were consistently a larger burden than heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and breast cancer.” – A systematic review of the psychosocial impact of fibroids before and after treatment

Go, Thomas, et al.

In the United States, an estimated 26,000,000 women between the ages of 15 and 50 have uterine fibroids.²Uterine fibroids are the most common gynecologic condition in women³, however treatment options and medical research funding have yet to match the enormity of the affected community.

The Fibroid Foundation continues to advocate for the passage of The Stephanie Tubbs Jones Fibroid Research and Education Act – H.R. 2007 introduced in The House of Representatives by Representative Yvette D. Clarke (NY-9) Continued community support is requested by residents in each state to achieve the House and Congressional support required in order for H.R. 2007 to be passed into law.

According to The Fibroid Foundation, patients are suffering in silence. Community members express concerns about limited treatment options, the high cost of treatment, insurance coverage, and difficulty finding minimally invasive gynecologic surgeons (MIGS). The organization recognizes the significant health disparities that impact its community, and provide support to address the disparities from a unique patient perspective.

The Fibroid Foundation mission:
- Normalize conversations about menstruation.
- Foster a movement for everyone with a uterus to thrive.
- Eliminate treatment disparities with layered patient support.
- Engage family and community in the menstrual health mission
- Enable those diagnosed with uterine fibroids to experience a smooth path to treatment with fulfilling outcomes
- Spark joy through advocacy.
- Understand how and why fibroids develop, and ultimately finding a cure.
About The Fibroid Foundation
The Fibroid Foundation is an organization founded by fibroid patient Sateria Venable in 2013. The Fibroid Foundation is published in eleven medical journals.

‘One woman at a time, we are showing the world that we are empowered, and that we are driven to change our story!’

~Sateria, Founder

1. A systematic review of the psychosocial impact of fibroids before and after treatment

2. Epidemiology of Uterine Fibroids – From Menarche to Menopause

3. Uterine Fibroids: Burden and Unmet Medical Need

For Media Inquiries:

Emma Jasper

Phone: 844.484.7698 (IT-IS-MY-U)
info@fibroidfoundation.org

Source: The Fibroid Foundation
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July 6, 2022
Periods Are Normal. Showing Them Should Be Too

New Libresse Global Feminine Care campaign #bloodnormal tackles period stigma head-on.

LONDON, October 17, 2017 (Newswire.com)
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Leading global feminine care brand Libresse continues its mission to break down period taboos with the launch of #bloodnormal. In a world-first, Libresse launches a global film which features the experience of periods, and period blood, openly and honestly in an attempt to normalise periods in mainstream culture. Libresse identified that periods are largely absent from mainstream culture and is leading the way to add positive period representation to the cultural map.

The #bloodnormal film, created by AMV BBDO, follows a series of young women in real life scenarios, going about their daily lives whilst having their period. The film sensitively portrays the everyday journey whilst women menstruate; demonstrating that periods — in all their forms — are normal and that showing them should be too.

Libresse worked with a selection of female and male collaborators, as well as members of the public, to depict periods in a true to life way. We see French actress Victoire Dauxerre ask a friend for a pad across a dinner party table, we see 12-year-old stand-up comedian Saffron Herndon deliver the punchline “I pulled out a pad and it was like I had my own hall pass” and fashion blogger Julian Hernandez casually buys pads in a convenience store. No big deal. The film ends with a young woman changing her pad in a bathroom; a scene depicting what so many girls and women go through and see every month. It should be such a normal thing. And nothing to be ashamed of. It’s just a little blood. Sadly, while the film seeks to project a “normal reality”, this world doesn’t quite exist yet, which is demonstrated by the restrictions placed on the film.

In a first for a feminine care brand, the typical blue used to denote blood is replaced with a more realistic red to demonstrate a pad’s absorbency and crucially blood is shown on women’s pads. Shot in a truthful, real style the film beautifully reveals scenarios which aim to educate rather than shock. Each scene provides an insight into how periods are a normal part of everyday life, to convince the audience that showing them should be too.

Tanja Grubner, Global Marketing & Communications Director at Essity, comments: “Periods are a normal part of life, but are largely ignored by mainstream media. They simply don’t feature in the representation of female characters that we see every day. As a leader in feminine hygiene, we want to challenge the stigma around periods. We believe that like any other taboo, the more people see it, the more normal the subject becomes. We want to lead the way with a campaign that tackles the taboo head-on by positively showing periods in action in everyday life truthfully and honestly – because we feel it’s the right thing to do for society.”

The film builds on Libresse’s 2016 campaign, Red.fit, which tackled the taboo around the menstrual cycle and exercise. From ballet dancers to boxers, rugby players to runners, the campaign captured the passion, dedication and determination of women who participate in sport all over the world. The film showed how they were not held back by their periods and celebrated blood by portraying it as a symbol of women’s strength.

The 2017 #bloodnormal campaign film was shot by award-winning director Daniel Wolfe, who passionately believed in the importance of addressing the topic. He comments, “Periods are still clearly taboo; the more women I chatted to of every age, the more I saw the taboo from a varied demographic. In the weeks running up to the shoot there was a number of interesting articles in the mainstream press challenging the status quo, and numerous pithy social media posts calling for change. ‘Can’t wait for the day when women no longer pass tampons to a friend like they are a Class A drug’ – was a quote which offered particular inspiration. We wanted to create something that provided a platform for discussion rather than trying to tell people what to think. And we hopefully made a film which isn’t defined by the gender of its director. A film which both women and men will take something from, hopefully helping instill the idea of a new normal.”

A recent survey of 10,000 people found that half of people believed there is a stigma attached to periods, with 9 in 10 women attempting to hide their periods. In a society that is becoming increasingly tolerant, the survey found that over a third of respondents thought periods as taboo over and above mental health problems and the gender pay gap.

Tanja Grubner, continues: “Our ambition is to continue to break down category taboos. Even creating this film has faced period stigmas head on. Currently, we are not able to broadcast this film on television without pixelating an everyday bathroom scene of a woman changing her pad as we have been told by broadcasters that the sight of period blood is deemed unacceptable. We find this shocking given that we are normalized to seeing blood in scenes of violence, yet we are not able to show blood in one of its most natural forms. One day we hope that we live in a society that accepts periods and allows them to be seen in a natural and positive way. We look forward to tackling this important issue for years to come and welcome everyone’s opinion using the hashtag #bloodnormal.”

French actress Victoire Dauxerre who starred in the #bloodnormal film comments, “I am so passionate about this topic and proud to be part of this campaign; it is speaking to people in an open-minded and true to life way. It shouldn’t shock anyone. Periods come every month. They are a part of our life”.

12-year-old comedian Saffron Herndon who also appears in the film adds, “I think there’s a taboo surrounding periods because there’s blood involved and it bloody hurts sometimes. I want people to be able to speak about periods without hesitating. Mainstream culture doesn’t reference periods as much as I would like it to. If periods are mentioned, it is usually in a negative way. I’d like to see that changed to a normal way.”

Fashion blogger Julian Hernandez says, “When I first heard of the campaign, it sounded like a really unique project raising awareness around an important message. I immediately wanted to get on-board to give a male point of view.”

To continue the normalisation of periods in global culture, Libresse will be funding the creation of three short films openly referencing periods. Working with global commissioning platform Flare Studio, who support aspiring creative talent, three emerging filmmakers will each receive a bursary to make their films, each inspired by #bloodnormal.

– Ends –

Notes to Editors:

For more information on #bloodnormal, the survey, the collaborators who appeared in the film Essity please contact charlotte.wood@ketchum.com or alexandra.marsh@ketchum.com +44 207 755 6400.

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm8vCCBaeQw&feature=youtu.be

The campaign will launch in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands & UK.

libresse.se/bloodnormal

libresse.fi/bloodnormal

libresse.dk/bloodnormal

libresse.no/bloodnormal

Libresse.nl/bloodnormal

bodyform.co.uk/bloodnormal

Survey methodology:

Essity commissioned an online survey among 10,017 men and women aged 13 to 50 living in the UK, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, China, and Malaysia. Survey interviews took place between 18 April and 9 May 2017. The margin of error for this study is +/- 0.98%. The survey was administered by Bilendi, a global research and survey company.

About Essity

Essity is a leading global hygiene and health company that develops, produces and sells Personal Care (Baby Care, Feminine Care, Incontinence Products and Medical Solutions), Consumer Tissue and Professional Hygiene products and solutions. Our vision is; Dedicated to improving well-being through leading hygiene and health solutions. Sales are conducted in approximately 150 countries under many strong brands, including the leading global brands TENA and Tork, and other brands, such as Leukoplast, Libero, Libresse, Lotus, Nosotras, Saba, Tempo, Vinda and Zewa. Essity has about 48,000 employees and net sales in 2016 amounted to approximately SEK 101bn (EUR 10.7bn). The business operations are based on a sustainable business model with focus on value creation for people and nature. The company has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. Essity used to be part of the SCA Group. More information at www.essity.com.

Source: Libresse

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October 17, 2017