Encouraging girls to be more comfortable with their bodies

By M Margaret Burke

THE Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Adventures team, headed by Dr. Patricee Douglas, has said that they are committed to pressing for progress in removing the shame and scourge surrounding a woman’s menstrual cycle while promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights for all females.

The team said that they have successfully completed their first quarterly Sanitary Pad Drive, captioned ‘#ComfortWithEveryDrop’ that was launched in February and stated that they were extremely thankful to the public for their monetary and sanitary pad contributions. In so doing, they made special mention to Christpen Bobb-Semple, Director of Cooperate Management System of Massy Group of Companies and Dionne Browne Health Promotion Officer of the Ministry of Education Health Promotion Programme – Puberty and Personal Hygiene Management Initiative, for their generous donations to the cause.

The distributions took place at three organisations namely: The St. Ann’s Girls Orphanage, Beacon Foundation and Women Across Differences (WAD).

POSSIBILITY OF LIFE

Studies have shown that every human being came about because of the menstrual cycle. There can be no pregnancy without ovulation ( the release of eggs from the ovaries), and this happens about two weeks before the menstrual cycle; once there is an egg-semen encounter conception is likely to take place.

The story of the menstrual cycle and getting pregnant tells how complex human reproduction really is – and how most people go through life not fully grasping what goes on “beneath the hood”. The entire menstrual cycle is a dynamic and intricate dance of hormonal surges and corresponding bodily changes that prepare women for pregnancy. If a pregnancy does not take place during a given cycle, the body simply starts the dance over – and this entire process is repeated each month starting with the onset of puberty and lasting until the onset of menopause.

During this lengthy process, the SRHR says that for most women access to feminine hygiene products is a matter of timing and convenience. “If we’re in a period bind, it’s because we forgot to put a pad in our purse or stock up on tampons. But we have so many options; we can even have pads and tampons delivered to our doors monthly,” Dr. Douglas said in an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine. She added that for many women around the globe, this is not the case and the lack of access to feminine hygiene products (or disposable products) is a major problem.

“While for many women in Guyana, getting your period is a nuisance; there are women and girls right in our beautiful land whose periods can translate into health issues. Due to a lack of access to proper, safe products, menstruating women face considerable sanitary issues,” Dr Douglas explained. The team, therefore, saw it as a necessary part of their voluntary work to assist women and girls in acquiring these proper and safe sanitary products, which they need quite regularly.

In addition to giving out the sanitary pads, a session on menstruation and menstrual hygiene management was conducted at St.Ann’s Girls Orphanage and at WAD. The girls of St. Ann’s also signed a pledge to never be afraid of their ‘amazing flow’! While at WAD’s comprehensive programme for adolescent mothers family planning was also done.

“On the other hand, at Beacon Foundation, the cancer patients were engaged in a conversation about their experiences with cervical cancer. The women of Beacon were more of a blessing to us than we were to them,” Dr. Douglas said.

This project will recommence in May and will seek to target Indigenous women along with other women who may not be able to afford pads on a monthly. The public is encouraged to continue to support this venture.
#MenstruationMatters #MyAmazingFlow #StopTabooingMyFlow (mercilinburke2017@gmail.com)