CLEARING up existing myths, and helping to reduce the stigma surrounding periods and the menstrual cycle, the Ministry of Education has advanced awareness and sensitisation efforts.
Some of these efforts include sharing posters and hosting sessions in various schools with students and parents, particularly focusing on schools in the hinterland. The ministry has also partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to continue providing learning materials, sanitary products and other resources to support young girls in this journey, as well as the First Lady Arya Ali’s Menstrual Hygiene Initiative, which was started in 2021 and continue to supply schools with sanitary napkins.
Recently, on the Ministry of Education’s EDYou FM series, EDYou Pulse, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cysterhood Support Guyana, Dr Kimberly Manbodh, highlighted the myths that exists, and the challenges found in some regions in Guyana.
She related that menstruation remains a taboo topic in many communities and regions across Guyana. Dr Manbodh said that a conversation with children (both boys and girls), to bring about that understanding that it is something natural, normal, and expected.
She stated that the conversation should be soft launched in the latter years of primary school, particularly as early as age ten for young girls who may experience their period at that age.
According to the doctor, someone who understands what that child may be experiencing, whether it’s a mother, older sister, a teacher or even a health professional, can have that conversation to prepare them for what is to come.
“You let them know when to expect it, what a period is; it’s where you have bleeding every month for about five to seven days if you have like a normal cycle. So you tell them, you know, you can have your little journal and notebook on a calendar, you can write down when your period started, when you start noticing the bleeding, when it stops, you can even calculate it yourself, because the cycle is supposed to be somewhere around 28 days, and you usually count it on the first day of your first period to the first day of the next period; and that’s when you get an idea of how long your cycle should be. So, you tell them, they can document things like that, you can create a nice self-care pouch for them, show them, see which sanitary napkin best works for them as well,” Dr Manbodh explained.
She cautioned however that every woman’s body is different, and experiences may vary when it comes to menstruation.
According to Dr Manbodh, while the normal cycle runs for 28-days, it can go up to 30 or 32 days as well. What becomes concerning, however, is when the cycle goes on for 35 days or more.
Usually, females have their period for around five to seven days, going from light to heavy and then light flow again.
“Now, if you notice you’re bleeding for seven days or more, and it’s heavy, like it’s expected to be ending, but the bleeding is increasing, you’re having heavy clots, you’re having lower abdominal pain, you’re bleeding for 21 days or more, that’s when it should be concerning. It will be considered as abnormal uterine bleeding, because now it’s no longer just a period. It has to be something else that is contributing towards that bleeding as well,” she stressed.
Speaking more on PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), and its evolution to PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome), she explained that a group, of more than 50 researchers studied what PCOS truly is. What they noticed is that when someone is classified with this disorder, it’s more than just cysts on their ovaries.
PMOS ties in the metabolic aspect of this disease, specifically the endocrinology aspect of it, and the signs and symptoms that accompanies it.
She advised women to avoid self-diagnosing and instead, see a doctor who will be better able to help them.
“So, my first advice would be don’t self-diagnose, don’t run to Dr Google, and if you think you have it, then see a healthcare provider and confirm it so that you can treat it very early,” she said.
