Periods usually begin at around the age of 12. Some girls will start them later, and some earlier – everyone is different. To start with, periods might not happen every month but from the ages of around 16 to 18 most people who menstruate will find their periods are regular.
Typically, a girl gets her period about 2 years after her breasts start to develop. Another sign is vaginal discharge fluid (sort of like mucus) that a girl might see or feel on her underwear. This discharge usually begins about 6 months to a year before a girl gets her first period.
“It is not uncommon for girls to start their period as young as 8 or 9,” says Dr. Sara Kreckman, UnityPoint Health pediatrician. “This can be both emotionally and mentally challenging for girls this young, as well as their parents.”
Puberty Comes Earlier
Now the average age for a first period is closer to 12, with one University of Cincinnati study reporting that about 10 to 15 percent of girls enter puberty at age 7 or younger, a phenomenon known as precocious puberty.
For most children, early puberty starts for no known reason. It can run in families. Sometimes there is a problem in the brain, such as an injury, a tumor or an infection. Early puberty can also be caused by a problem in the sex glands (testes or ovaries), the thyroid gland or the adrenal glands.
If a girl starts menstruation at a young age, it's usually because the hormones in her body responsible for puberty are being produced earlier.
Early periods often result from hormonal changes, especially during puberty and perimenopause. Many underlying medical conditions, including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, can also cause menstrual irregularities.
A girl's first period is usually very light, with sometimes only spotting or very little blood. The typical menstrual cycle is 28 days long, but periods are often irregular during the first few years of menstruation.
Growing pubic hair
Her first period usually arrives around one to two years after pubic hair starts growing.
Menarche is defined as the first menstrual period in a female adolescent. Menarche typically occurs between the ages of 10 and 16, with the average age of onset being 12.4 years.
If your daughter hasn't had her first menstrual cycle by 15, or if more than three years have passed since she started developing breasts, she should see a physician.
Early menstruation, especially at a young age is a perfectly normal phenomenon. During the first months or even years, the period can be quite irregular. The cause early menstruation it may simply be a hormonal imbalance. However, if it happens repeatedly then you should seek the cause from your doctor.
A study including almost half a million people finds that starting periods before the age of 12 increases the risk of heart disease and stroke later in life. Share on Pinterest A range of reproductive factors are linked with health risks in a new study.
Make sure you have clear facts to state your case. It is much more effective to have facts and figures, rather than vague statements. Be specific and direct. For example, it may be better to say “I have had to take 5 days off in the last 6 months due to menstruation” rather than “I've struggled with my periods”.
“The primary reason that period blood could be brown is because it's old blood,” said Dr. Cummings. It usually happens at the beginning or the end of your period, when your flow is lighter. Because the longer blood takes to leave the body, the longer it has to oxidize (read: get exposed to oxygen), which makes it dark.
Unlike the female reproductive system, boys do not have uterus and thus menstruation cannot occur. Therefore, it is biologically impossible for boys to have periods. However, boys during puberty may undergo mood swings or other emotional changes due to changing levels of the male sex hormone testosterone.
Stress levels often affect the part of your brain that controls your hormone levels – the hypothalamus – which means the stress you're experiencing may cause your period to come when you're not expecting it – which means it's possible that your period will come early.
High protein intake elevates IGF-1 levels and promotes growth, which could accelerate the onset of puberty. Poor diet. Children with lower-nutrient diets tend to enter puberty earlier. A diet rich in processed foods and meats, dairy, and fast food is disruptive to normal physical development.
She may get cramps. She may also feel bloated or "puffy." Breast tenderness and swelling, headaches, back and leg aches, acne breakouts and nausea are also common symptoms for many young women before and during their periods. These symptoms usually stop or become less severe a day or two after the bleeding starts.
ballet, opera, or theatre, or a concert or sporting event she'd love. Take her on an adventure, eg. hot air ballooning, rock climbing, camping or something else scary, exciting and challenging. Go on a mother/daughter weekend away.
Children with precocious puberty may grow quickly at first and be tall, compared with their peers. But, because their bones mature more quickly than normal, they often stop growing earlier than usual. This can cause them to be shorter than average as adults.
Pubic hair – Once her pubic hair starts growing, you can expect her period to develop in one to two years.
Fact: There is no scientific evidence that drinking milk causes early puberty. In the United States, girls are entering puberty at younger ages than they were in the first half of the 20th century. Researchers do not know the exact trigger for early-onset puberty, although it is likely influenced by many factors.