Menarche among Brazilian women: memories of experiences

Menstruation During a Lifespan: A Qualitative Study of Women's Experiences

“…As found here and supported by other studies (Amaral, 2011;Beausang & Razor, 2000;Koff & Rierdan, 1995;Rembeck & Hermansson, 2008;Uskul, 2004), for women, one's mother is seen as the primary source of information, as well as emotional and practical support, when reaching menarche. Furthermore, we found that one's mother plays an essential role in how women relate to the menstrual phenomenon later in life.…”

“…Women express a continuous need to conceal the presence of their menstrual bleeding as it is considered an intimate and private matter. Comparable findings have been revealed in several other studies (Amaral, 2011;Lee, 2009;Marván & Trujillo, 2010;O'Flynn, 2006). We find it noteworthy that the women in our study question the social rules that they feel obligated to follow.…”

“…Many previous researchers have focused on specific perspectives of menstruation, like the experience of menarche (Fingerson, 2005;Lee, 2009;Orringer & Gahagan, 2010), menstrual education (Amaral, 2011;Beausang & Razor, 2000;Rembeck & Hermansson, 2008), menstrual symptoms (Johnston-Robledo et al, 2003;Santer et al, 2003;O'Flynn, 2006) or been based on beliefs about and attitudes towards menstruation (Marván, Ramírez-Esparza, Cortés-Iniestra & Chrisler, 2006). Our results, based on women's narratives, reveal the complexity surrounding menstruation as being an experience unique to each woman.…”

“…Information about menstruation is mostly obtained from mothers, schoolteachers (Amaral, 2011;Beausang & Razor, 2000;Rembeck & Hermansson, 2008), friends (Amaral, 2011;Kissling, 1996) and older sisters (Amaral, 2011). The menstrual education that women receive can influence their attitudes toward menstruation and sexuality (Beausang & Razor, 2000;Rembeck & Gunnarsson, 2004).…”

“…JohnstonRobledo and Chrisler (2013) argue that this is a stigma that may affect women's body image and sexual health. Menstruation is generally described as intimate (Amaral, 2011) and as a phenomenon that should be kept hidden from others (Amaral, 2011;Lee, 2009;Marván & Trujillo, 2010). Studies from different parts of the world indicate the existence of social rules that require the concealment of menstruation, which may result in continuing stress for women (Çevirme, Çevirme, Karaoglu, Urgurlu & Korkamaz, 2010;Johnston-Robledo & Chrisler, 2013;O'Flynn, 2006;Sommer, 2009;Uskul, 2004).…”