At the age of 11 (9) to 14 (15) years, girls show the first signs of puberty, which serve as signals about the imminent onset of menarche. These signs include:
- a sharp jump in height, and in some also in weight;
- development of mammary glands;
- armpit and pubic hair;
- possible deterioration of the skin, the appearance of acne and acne.
The culmination of all these changes is menarche - the first menstruation. Menarche - this is the line between childhood and youth, began a new stage in the life of a girl. She becomes a girl.
Menarche - the first menstruation
In different cultures, this event is treated differently. For example, in Muslim countries, menarche is celebrated as a family. Little girls from a very young age know what a menarche is, that it is a very important day in their life, and are waiting for this significant day. In oriental culture, for any girl since childhood, happy marriage, giving birth to children, and serving her husband is a priority. In Western civilization it is not customary to advertise this. However, another extreme is undesirable, when the girl does not know anything about the menarch at all - that this is absolutely normal and occurs with all women. Sometimes the lack of information about such an important aspect can lead to undesirable consequences: when a girl finds blood on her underwear, she is horrified, thinks that something is wrong with her, and shyness does not allow her to share with adults. Therefore, doctors and psychologists advise mothers to tell their daughter about the physiological characteristics of the female body, about what should happen to her in the near future, about the menarche — that this is the beginning of a new stage in her life, about how treat this and prepare for it. This is also important because in the girls several months before the first menstruation, periodic abdominal pain, more profuse leucorrhoea (discharge from the genitals), and acne can occur. Nevertheless, with the beginning of the first menstruation, the sexual development of the girl does not end: it takes years for her to become a full-fledged woman and be able to give birth to children without problems.
Menstruation period
Initially, for many girls, the duration of the menstrual cycle is from 28-30 days, and the regulae (menstruation days) generally last from 3 to 5 days. However, only 50% of girls immediately establish a normal cycle, while the rest of them normalize within a few months, even a year after the menarche. What is it? Pathology? Most likely not, although there may be exceptions. Of course, if this continues after a year, then this should be cause for concern, and parents need to see a doctor. Scanty or, conversely, too heavy menstruation are also an occasion for a medical examination. As already noted above, the onset of menarche is a period of 9 to 15 years, therefore, earlier or, conversely, late first menstruation is an alarm. Do not be afraid of trips to the gynecologist. Perhaps the girl has no problems, but for her own good you need to establish the true cause of premature or late menstruation.