Menarche
From both social and medical perspectives, it is often considered the central event of female puberty, as it signals the possibility of fertility.
[12] The menstruum, or flow, consists of a combination of fresh and clotted blood with endometrial tissue.
[15] In very rare instances, menarche may occur at an unusually early age, preceding thelarche and other signs of puberty.
[17][18][19][20] In some cases, because biochemical tests are not always discriminatory, underlying pathologies are not identified and the girl is classified as constitutional growth delay.
[26] A systematic review has concluded that early age at menarche is also a risk factor for the insulin resistance condition.
Stress is a vague term and studies have examined conditions ranging from family tensions or conflict to wartime refugee status with threat to physical survival.
The more dire social conditions have been found to be associated with delay of maturation, an effect that may be compounded by dietary inadequacy.
There is more uncertainty and mixed evidence as to whether milder degrees of stress or early-life under-nutrition can accelerate puberty in girls as would be predicted by life history theory and demonstrated in many other mammals.
[31] The understanding of these environmental effects is incomplete and the following observations and cautions are relevant: There were few systematic studies of timing of menarche before the later half of the 20th century.
Most sources agree that the average age of menarche in girls in modern societies has declined, though the reasons and the degree remain subjects of controversy.
[36] A 2011 study found that each 1 kg/m2 increase in childhood body-mass index (BMI) can be expected to result in a 6.5% higher absolute risk of early menarche (before age 12 years).
[41] There are cultures that have in past centuries, and in present, practiced rites of passage for a girl experiencing menarche.
[42] Canadian psychological researcher Niva Piran claims that menarche or the perceived average age of puberty is used in many cultures to separate girls from activity with boys, and to begin transition into womanhood.
This party is similar to the quinceañera in Latin America, except that a specific age marks the transition rather than menarche.
When a Japanese girl had her first period, the family sometimes celebrated by eating red-colored rice and beans (sekihan).
[44] In some Indian communities, young women are given a special menarche ceremony called Ruthu Sadangu.
[44] In the United States, some public schools have a sex education program that teaches girls about menstruation and what to expect at the onset of menarche (often this takes place during the fourth grade).
[44] In Sri Lanka, an astrologer is contacted to study the alignment of stars when the girl experiences menarche because it is believed that her future can be predicted.
The Beta Jews built their villages surrounding and near bodies of water specifically for their women to have a place to clean themselves.
The girls who experience menarche wear special clothes and style their hair like the Navajo goddess "Changing Woman".
The theme of transformation around the menarche is similarly present in Turning Red (2022), although the film also explores other aspects of puberty as a whole and the protagonist does not actually start her first period.
Girls experiencing their first period is part of many movies, particularly ones that include coming-of-age plot lines, such as The Blue Lagoon (1980), The Company of Wolves (1984), An Angel at My Table (1990), My Girl (1991), Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991), Eve’s Bayou (1997), and A Walk on the Moon (1999).
