I’ve touched on menarche, or a girl’s first period, in a few of my previous blog posts addressing the cultural significance, body literacy and caring for her body in preparation of this event. 

In this post, I want to explain the Eastern medicine perspective of this momentous occasion in a young woman’s life.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Female Development

In Chinese medicine, women’s bodies move in seven year cycles. From birth a young girl matures until the blood and Qi (energy) overflow in abundance bringing her first period or menarche.

Periods, from an oriental medicine viewpoint, operate from a place of abundance when everything is healthy. During the month you fill the vessel. At the end of the month the blood “runneth over” in the period and cleanses the unused endometrial lining in preparation for the next month.

A girl’s first period should operate from this place of abundance, just like an adult. The healthy range for a period to start is between 12-14, with the average age being 13. This fits with the understanding that if a woman’s body moves in seven year cycles, this would be in the second set of seven years of a girl’s life.

In our culture, diet and stress are contributing to girls showing imbalances from the very start of their menstrual life. Diet and stress can trigger the first period to show up earlier or later than this window.

Food Therapy and Steaming

Using Chinese food therapy and pelvic steaming, it is easy to address these imbalances before they become larger more painful problems.

If a girl doesn’t regularly get certain nutrients in her diet or the quality of what she is consuming is poor, it is not uncommon to see the first period arrive outside of the 12-14 range. The kinds of foods and support your child needs are topics we would discuss in detail during our first visit. 

Steaming helps with stress. It relaxes the pelvic floor and the whole nervous system taking your child out of “fight or flight” and into “rest and digest.” I suggest steaming before bed because it makes for great quality sleep because of its relaxing nature.

Early Start – Spleen Qi Deficiency

When a girl starts her period before the age of 12, it tells us that the holding energy in the body that governs the movement of fluids is being challenged.

While this stress on the system can happen for a variety of reasons, the girl’s body doesn’t have the “strength” to hold back the blood and lets it down prematurely. 

I have worked with several young ladies who have experienced this and with the right foods and herbs, we are able to keep the blood stopped until she has reached a more advanced age.

When the body has the right tools for the job – the systems work in better harmony.

Delayed Start – Stagnation

Stagnation can be a player in periods coming after age 14. When steaming is a part of the girl’s regular practice, this “stuckness” moves and the body is better able to let down and let the period flow as it should.

In the cases where stagnation is keeping the period from starting in a normal range, those women often are plagued with cramps, brown blood and more throughout their life. 

Starting from the beginning with a tool that keeps circulation moving and doesn’t allow it to get stuck will change her experience with her period as well as empowering her with the tools to manage it effectively.

Ready to help your young lady get her cycle off to a healthy start? adrienne@moonessence.life