Girls having periods at just 8 years, shows everteen survey

India’s leading feminine hygiene brand, everteen, has released findings of its everteen Menstrual Hygiene Survey 2022, on the occasion of the global Menstrual Hygiene Day 2022 which is being observed on 28 May worldwide. everteen is one of the partners for #MHDay2022, which is also supported by UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank, France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other organizations. 

The 7th annual everteen Menstrual Hygiene Survey received participation from nearly 6000 menstruating women in the age group 18 to 35 years from more than 35 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Patna, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bhopal, Indore, Guwahati, Jaipur, Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Kolkata.

The survey reveals some startling findings about the average onset age and duration of periods. While most of the women respondents (79.3%) said they were 12 years or more when they got their first period, 63.1% women said they knew girls who have just started their periods, out of which as many as 37.5% girls were aged 11 years or less. In fact, the survey shows that girls are now having first period at the tender age of just 8-years (3.2%) and 9 years (4.8%)!

The survey findings also put a question mark on the phrase ‘those five days’, with less than one-third women (30.3%) having periods for 5 days in a month. At the extreme ends, as many as 22.8% women had periods lasting 3 days or lesser, while 1.8% women had periods lasting more than 8 days each month.

More than half the women, or 53.2%, said they do not sleep well during the first two days of their periods. 67.5% women are still worried about risk of spotting during periods when they are asleep at night. 57.3% women experienced moderate to severe menstrual cramps, while 37.2% had mild or occasional menstrual pain. A whopping 62.2% women admitted that they have either never or only rarely changed a sanitary pad at a public place such as a public toilet at office, mall or cinema hall. An even higher 74.6% women get uncomfortable if they need to change sanitary pad at a public toilet. 88.3% women believe that dirty toilets can be a source of the persistent UTI.

Mr. Chirag Pan, CEO of PAN Healthcare, says, “The exact cause of menstrual abnormalities in onset and duration of periods merits in-depth investigation. In our 2021 everteen survey, 41% women reported unusually irregular gap in menstrual periods during COVID phase, while 28.8% women noticed unusually high clotting. We would also love to see greater focus in macro-economic policies to set up hygiene benchmarks and audits of public toilets, so that women can use them to change sanitary pads without fear of infection. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s visionary leadership has already paved the way for India becoming an open-defecation-free country, which has set the stage for elevating Swachh Bharat campaign and National Urban Policy Framework in this direction. There is also a need to explore how periods can be made easier with better and more innovative products to manage overnight spotting and menstrual cramps.”

Among other findings, everteen found that nearly one-third of all menstruating women (69.7%) experienced moderate to heavy flow and changed one or more pads every 3 hours during period days. 38.9% women still avoid going out during periods. Among those who do go out, the three biggest concerns are changing sanitary pads (32.2%), menstrual cramps (30%) and staining (28.7%). Only 9% women listed menstrual odor as an area of concern.

Says Mr. Hariom Tyagi, CEO of Wet and Dry Personal Care, the maker of everteen, “Over the years, our surveys have shown that awareness is progressively increasing, and taboos being broken on the subject of menstrual periods. However, our 2022 everteen Menstrual Hygiene Survey shows a very promising development. As many as 22.3% women are now using panty liners for during protection against white discharge during non-period days. This is significant as it indicates that Indian women are finally coming out of traditional cocoons and accepting a complete feminine hygiene regime. As a pioneer in the field, everteen has played a crucial role on the need for a complete feminine hygiene approach. Still, we have a long way to go as a country. 23.5% women still don’t consult a doctor or even friends and family in case of irregular periods. 26.7% women are still unaware of methods to prevent white discharge.”

everteen has been conducting these annual Menstrual Hygiene Surveys since 2014. As a pioneer in complete feminine intimate hygiene, it has also been actively creating awareness on feminine and menstrual hygiene through numerous campaigns such as #FixYourPeriods and #SheNeedsPad. everteen is one of nearly 800 global partners of the Menstrual Hygiene Day, a platform supported by organizations like UNICEF and World Bank to raise awareness about the challenges faced by women and girls worldwide due to menstruation and highlight solutions to address such challenges. Today, everteen offers more than 35 different intimate hygiene and wellness products for women including sanitary pads, menstrual cups, bikini line hair remover crème, intimate wash, toilet seat sanitizer, fertility and pregnancy test kits, feminine serums and more. A bestseller on online marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, Purplle, Snapdeal, Paytm, and others, everteen has also shipped products to customers in countries including Australia, Bangladesh, France, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, US, UK, Vietnam, and several African countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda.