Most of the Girls are getting their first periods earlier in USA. Here’s what parents should know

Compared to girls in the 1950s and 1960s, American girls are now starting their menstrual cycles on average six months sooner. Additionally, more girls are starting to menstruate before the traditionally considered early age of nine. A sizable new study supporting this claim was released this week in the journal JAMA Network Open.

The study’s co-author and assistant professor of environmental, reproductive, and women’s health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Dr. Shruthi Mahalingaiah, adds, “It’s important to educate caregivers, parents, and care providers on this trend so that we can also prepare our children.”

It might be somewhat perplexing to experience your first period when you’re younger. Mahalingaiah notes that there is still a great deal of stigma and quiet surrounding it.

The study’s data came from over 71,000 women who were asked to remember when they first started menstruating when they registered in the program via the Apple Research App on their iPhones. From 2000 to 2005, the average age at which menstruation began was 11.9 years old, according to the study. That is a decrease from 12.5 years of age in the years 1950–1969.

Furthermore, the proportion of girls who started menstruating before the age of nine more than doubled, and the percentage of girls who got their period before the age of eleven increased from 8.6% to 15.5%.

All demographic groups in the study showed this trend toward earlier times, but girls from lower-income and racial/ethnic minority groups showed it significantly more strongly.

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How to Support a Child Through Early Adolescence
Researchers claim that since menstruation is a crucial indicator of health, it is critical to comprehend how menstrual patterns are evolving.