Thank you so much for sending in your stories! PadCare Labs has truly enjoyed reading all of them and relating to most of them.
Here are our top 3 picks from the lot that will surely put a smile on your face -
No girl can ever forget her first period. Neha Nakoda, currently doing her MBA still recalls the first time she became acquainted with menses and how it truly changed her.
“Today it is normal but it was not normal then.
It was a fine night but the next morning was unusual. It was the day when I woke up with blood and stain.
I had got my first period. Although i knew that period was a thing with girls of my age, I did not know what exactly it was. Assuming it to be some sort of injury I carried on with my daily schedule and left for school. It was only during my break that I got to know I had got my first period when my mom came to my school to pick me up unexpectedly. She figured it out from the stain on my clothes from previous night. Even though I knew about periods it felt like a shock when it actually happened to me. One of the reasons for embracement was the festival like celebration which was apparently a ritual in my community, where in all the ladies from the family showed up with sweets and gifts to shower their blessings on me.
Today we can talk normally on this topic but unfortunately there are many girls in remote areas of the country who don’t understand and aren’t even taught about what are periods, how natural they are and how to effectively deal with them. We as a society need to spread awareness among not only the young girls but every individual irrespective of gender. So that the barrier in communication regarding this topic gets eliminated and no girl ever has to face problems because of periods.”
Such traditions and customs truly highlight how important menstruation in a woman’s life is, and how it should be cherished and celebrated and not seen as dirty or unclean. It’s our turn to celebrate the first period of our daughters, sisters, friends and any girl out there who is made to feel bad about her periods.
After the first period, going to school is always dreadful. Especially in the bright white PT uniform! None of those enthusiastic female leads from Sanitary Napkin advertisements prepare girls to be less anxious about staining.
Deepti Lele, a working professional in pharma industry and full-time mother of one bubbly 7-year-old, talks about one such school day -
“My most memorable story was an incidence when I was in 8th grade - We had white PE uniforms, and on a particular heavy bleeding day, I stained my bright white skirt. My teacher led me to the medical room to help me clean my skirt, change into a fresh pad and handed me a new skirt from the school reserves. All of this happened without saying a word. Clearly, I was scared, embarrassed and in pain.
After I had changed, she simply smiled and said... "It happens all the time. Don't worry. You’re in safe hands"... And then as she was about to drop me off to the class she stopped and said... "Don't lie about what happened. In case you find anyone else in your place, step up and help out. Welcome to the world of adults". This was an eye opener for me in many ways.”
All girls will forever be thankful for those understanding and empathetic teachers and wardens who have not just made us feel comfortable and cared for, but also taught us how we should support each other especially during such unwanted episodes that we have no control over.
Though boys often shy away while discussing about menstruation, we do believe that those very shy boys will be vocal to make sure they provide the best care for the women in their lives, and it could very well be by choosing the correct sanitary napkin brand. Samridhi Pandey, working in the development sector, passionate about gender studies shares one such cute story -
“I've never hidden my pads while carrying them to the changeroom, or hushed about my periods or pain and cramping to anyone ever.
My most memorable period memory is of the time when I had asked my mom to get me a packet of pads and she had went to the store with my brother. Being the typical Indian mom she obviously wanted to lift some groceries too, and my brother is 6 years younger to me and when my mom was randomly selecting any napkin packet for me, he said "No she doesn't use this one, get the green one.." and to much horror of other aunties in the convenience store, their face was wearing the expression of "haye ram dekho kya bol ra h ye ladka".... I felt happy because he was in std 5 when you don't get to learn "that" chapter...”
Apart from just memorable incidents, everyone has a period ‘coping mechanism’, something to ease your mood.
Dr. Smita Kale, we do agree with you, chocolate do help and they do put you in a wonderful mood. Thank you for sharing this tip with us.
We thank each one of you for sending in your story. We hope you enjoyed reading these stories just as much as we did.