Before the First Period: Why Menstrual Education Needs to Start Earlier

Why menstrual health education needs to start before a girl's first period

For many women, conversations about periods begin too late.

They begin after the confusion. After the fear. After the first experience of bleeding has already happened. By then, what should have been a normal and understandable part of development can feel frightening, embarrassing, or isolating.

A recent paper in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health makes a strong case for changing that. It argues that attention to menarche, puberty education, and menstrual health needs to happen earlier, and that preparing girls before their first period is not simply helpful, but essential.

Why does it matter?

This matters because a first period is not only a biological event. It is also an emotional and developmental experience. The way a girl meets that moment can shape how she feels about her body, her health, and herself for years to come.

When girls are prepared in advance, menarche is more likely to feel expected rather than frightening. They are better able to recognise what is happening, ask questions, and respond with confidence rather than confusion. Earlier education also helps normalise conversations about hormones, body literacy, and menstrual health long before shame or silence have a chance to take hold.

This is one of the reasons menstrual and hormone education should not begin only once a girl has already started her period. It should begin earlier, in an age-appropriate way, so that understanding grows alongside development.

At The Balance Project, we believe this kind of preparation is not about over-medicalising childhood. It is about reducing fear, building confidence, and helping girls feel more at home in their own changing bodies.

Own It!

That is exactly why Own It! matters. It creates a space for girls and parents to begin these conversations earlier, with warmth, clarity, and expert guidance, so that first periods are met with understanding rather than uncertainty.

Why this conversation should start before there is a problem

Too often, girls only get deeper support once something feels difficult - painful periods, distress, withdrawal from sport, confusion, or emotional overwhelm.

Many reports point to the value of earlier understanding. If the menstrual cycle is an indicator of health, and if it can shape how girls feel and function, then education should not be reactive. It should be proactive.

That is one of the strongest arguments for Own It! as we have written about previously.

By opening up evidence-based, age-appropriate conversation between parent and teen, the workshop helps build the kind of understanding that can support girls not just when challenges arise, but before silence, misinformation, or shame have a chance to take root.