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A third of teens and young adults in the U.S. can\u2019t afford or otherwise access menstrual products, according to new research from Children\u2019s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
The study found that \u201cperiod poverty\u201d \u2014 that is, insufficient access to menstrual hygiene products and related education \u2014 appears to affect young people equally, despite differences in race, ethnicity, neighborhood or whether they have health insurance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were really surprised by how widespread of an issue this is,\u201d said Dr. Monika Goyal, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist and co-director of the Center for Translational Research at Children\u2019s National.<\/p>\n
Goyal and her colleagues are scheduled to present their findings, which have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday.<\/p>\n
For the study, the researchers surveyed 1,816 young people ages 13 to 21 who came into the emergency room at Children\u2019s National from mid-January of this year through the end of June. <\/p>\n
Teens and young adults were said to be experiencing period poverty if they said they\u2019d either had to use rags or tissues during their period over the past year or didn\u2019t have the money to buy tampons or pads.<\/p>\n
Goyal said the findings aren\u2019t rooted in the occasional situations that most women have found themselves in \u2014 being caught off guard by the start of an early cycle without a menstrual product on hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is reflective of a larger issue with respect to access,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is about having difficulty affording menstrual health products.\u201d According to the data analytics company NielsenIQ, average prices for tampons rose by nearly 10% in 2022, and more than 8% for pads.<\/p>\n
Of the 1,816 responses, 597 reported period poverty, or 32.9%.<\/p>\n
The percentage seems to be higher than what\u2019s been found in previous research.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first I heard 1 in 5, then I heard 1 in 4, and now we\u2019re hearing 1 in\u00a03,\u201d said Dr. Shelby Davies, an attending physician in the adolescent medicine division at Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
But that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean the number of teens going without proper menstrual products is increasing, said Davies, who was not involved with the new research.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat it could indicate is that we as a society are talking about it more,\u201d Davies said. \u201cI think the early numbers might have been skewed just based on what people felt comfortable talking about. We were likely underrepresenting the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
When young women are forced to use unhygienic products such as rags or menstrual products that have already been used, it greatly increases the risk of bacterial infections in the vagina and urinary tract.<\/p>\n
Some young people may skip school, sports or other social activities because of a lack of access to menstrual products. Previous research has linked period poverty to depression among college-age women.<\/p>\n
While prices of menstrual products and spot shortages in tampons may affect some women more significantly than others, study co-author Meleah Boyle, a staff scientist at Children\u2019s National, said the new findings held regardless of race or socioeconomic status.<\/p>\n
\u201cYouth who are living in neighborhoods with high opportunity had similar rates of experiencing menstrual inequity as those living in areas or neighborhoods that were underresourced,\u201d Boyle said. \u201cThis is impacting everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some states are passing legislation to increase access to menstrual products in schools. Starting in 2024, Minnesota law requires public schools to provide them for free to any student in need, starting in the fourth grade. Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland and New Mexico have similar laws, according to Aunt Flow, a company that supplies schools and businesses with menstrual products that can be given to students and employees for free.<\/p>\n
Davies said pediatricians can help teens open up about whether they\u2019re experiencing period poverty by asking questions beyond the typical, \u201cWhen was your last period?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her recommended questions are:<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen\u2019s health in general has been deprioritized,\u201d Goyal said. \u201cJust like toilet paper is readily available in all restrooms, we\u2019d love to see improved access to free menstrual products everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n