Period trauma can affect mental health and physical health.
Find out why Black people are at risk for period trauma and see how to treat it.
Charis Chambers is a board-certified OB/GYN also known as The Period Doctor.
CJ Frogozo is the vice president of community at Thinx, a feminine hygiene product company.
She is also a fitness instructor at The Class by Taryn Toomey.
This needs to change, but it requires efforts on many fronts.
Cece Jones-Davis is a Black menstrual advocate, criminal justice activist, artist, and thought leader.
Why period trauma can be worse for Black menstruators
Why do Black menstruators experience more period trauma?
For starters, they may be more prone to certain reproductive health issues than other demographics.
As a result, they may suffer for longer periods of time without treatment.
To begin with, Dr. And while not all Black Americans are descended from slaves, Dr. We have not been a culture that could afford to be perceived as fragile.
Cece Jones Davis
In some Black family cultures, Dr.
This can also lead to under-reporting of issues.
The cross-generational lack of discussion is huge, she says.
In other words, periods make Black uterus-owners feel disproportionate shame.
Fear also plays a role.
Cece Jones-Davis is a Black menstrual advocate, criminal justice activist, artist, and thought leader.
Black menstruators may also avoid seeking treatment for their period pain because of historical malpractice.
Our country, for example, has a dark history offorcing sterilization on Black womenwithout their consent.
There are a number of scenarios where there are truly medical crimes against black women that equal stolen fertility.
This is a byproduct of systemic and institutional racism that prioritizes white bodies as the default.
While this affects the treatment Black people receive in myriad ways, Dr.
Chambers points to one in which it can specifically exacerbate the trauma of periods.
This phenomenon can then result in delayed diagnosis and treatment.
hysterectomies) for Black people with uteruses.
There is no limit to the trauma this causes.
Not being able to afford to contain your period flow isnt just uncomfortable, either.
All those missed days of school, for example, add up.
This equates to about 24 days a year, which is no small thing.
Its a big deal socially, academically, athletically, she says.
Missing so much school is not just a momentary disadvantage, either.
(Theresa notable wage gapbetween white women and Black women in America, too.)
It can lead to depressive feelings, if not overt depression.
Chambers, however, a critical place to start is with education.
Another way to address the inequity of period trauma is by increasing diversity in the medical establishment.
Chambers, Black women only make up two percent of practicing physicians.
Getting more Black women into medicine isnt the only answer.
Getting more Black women into medicine isnt the only answer, however; as Dr. Everyone needs to do betterthe curriculum across the board needs to improve.
Its also crucial to improve access to period care products, says Jones Davis.
you’re free to also supportefforts to eliminate tampon taxes, which still exist in 30 states.
Chambers notes that Black menstruators need access to another form of health care, too.
For people who are suffering from extreme period pain or trauma, Dr.
Chambers urges them to seek out the help they needeven if it takes multiple tries.
Not with the medications and medical innovations that are available.
There is already so much pain in the world.
Periods should never be another source of that painand its on all of us to change that.
…
Got it, you’ve been added to our email list.
