Eastern Washington University’s student newspaper reported that over 40% of the feminine hygiene machines were broken on their campus, and it reminded me of an experience I had with feminine hygiene machines. 

It happened to me in high school.

I had just started my period and wasn’t very good at keeping extra supplies in my backpack or locker. I found a quarter in one of those obscure backpack pockets, ever so slyly slipped it into my pocket, and prayed to the gods that no one would be in the bathroom so I could buy my tampon in peace and no one would have to know I was on my period.

But of course, I was not alone, and I had to buy my tampon with another girl in the bathroom, who probably didn’t even notice me.

It was one of the most mortifying moments of my life, and became even worse when the machine didn’t work. I left the bathroom and found one of my friends in the hall, who in fact did have an extra tampon on her, as she was on her period, too.

Knowing that my friend was on her period at the same time as me was oddly comforting. Shocking, I know, that it took a fourteen year old almost a year into her period to come to terms with the fact that she couldn’t possibly be the only girl in the world on her period at any given moment. But that’s what got me through that week, and now I’m thinking that’s all that matters. Although I never did get that quarter back.

It’s these kind of moments where I wish I had known about GladRags. Before this semester at school, I didn’t even know that there were alternatives to disposable tampons and pads. I had asked my friend if she had an extra tampon (I’m sensing a trend here about myself) and she told me she had never used a tampon. She had only used a menstrual cup since she started her period. I started doing some research, and was considering trying out a menstrual cup. I was also looking for a summer job at the time and Bitch magazine shared a summer internship opportunity, and I found GladRags.

My period is nothing to be shameful about, and now I think it’s more embarrassing that it took me years of being on my period to figure this out. The experience illustrates something that I think needs to change, and that’s how we talk about, or more likely not talk about, our periods. Finding GladRags and its community of followers helped me find that period positivity. It’s an empowering feeling that is central to the GladRags mission, and I am proud to be a part of that.

About the author of this post:
Bronte Dod is the summer intern at GladRags and attends Willamette University, studying politics, history, and women’s and gender studies. She is passionate about education, dance, and hiking with her dog.

Confession: I cropped my underwear out of this photo… OF MY MENSTRUAL PADS.

I’m writing this post in Puerto Rico (for a wedding and family festivities) and am enjoying the sunshine and the ability to dry clothes outdoors! Last week as I was drying my pantyliners on the clothesline I started thinking about all the places my cloth pads have traveled with me.

As far as I can remember, my stash of GladRags and my menstrual cup have gone with me from my home in Portland, Oregon to the following places:

• The Bay Area & Los Angeles, California
• Seattle, Washington
• Bremen & Berlin, Germany
• Greece & Turkey
• All over Puerto Rico

That’s quite a list! In addition, they’ve tagged along on countless camping trips or weekends at the Oregon coast. I’d be hard pressed to find another item in my life that’s so well-traveled. Even my phone or shoes wear out and have to be replaced long before they make it on this many trips!

Just sun-drying my pantyliners next to Paquita the parrot and the Puerto Rican jungle, no big deal.

If my GladRags have traveled this far, what  interesting places have your cloth pads visited? Comment with the interesting and unique places you’ve brought your cloth pads or menstrual cup. Bonus points for photos!

About the author of this post:
Tracy Puhl is the owner of GladRags and is passionate about period positivity and empowering women everywhere. In her free time, she likes to volunteer, run around her neighborhood, and cuddle with her favorite cat.

Cloth pad converts are known for (loudly) proclaiming that reusables changed their life. If you’ve never tried cloth pads before, you might be wondering how. Here are just five of the ways GladRags changed my life:

1. No more soreness.

When I was in high school, I hated my period with a passion because I was painfully sore “down there” for a week. Little did I know… that’s not supposed to happen! Once I switched to cloth, I realized that my body was irritated by the moisture-wicking chemicals inside regular disposable pads. Now my period is relatively painless (except for the occasional bout of cramps when I don’t take good care of my body throughout the rest of the month).

2. Pretty colors = major mood boosters.

So pretty!

This one might sound silly, but it’s totally true for me. Cloth pads are pretty! And pretty colors make me feel happy. I enjoy picking out which pads I’m going to use each day during my cycle, and I have my go-to favorites that always brighten my mood. It’s kind of like wearing really awesome underwear. No one knows about it, but it makes you feel good anyway!

3. Your period will go by in a flash.

I am routinely surprised each time my period is over. “It only just started!” I’ll think. Then I’ll check my period tracker app and realize, yup, it’s about time to be wrapping up. Scientifically, it’s unclear if switching to cloth from disposables actually makes your period shorter, or if it just feels like it! But then… as long as it feels quick, does it really matter?

4. You’ll never waddle awkwardly to the store with a bunch of toilet paper stuffed in your undies at 9 o’clock at night to buy overpriced tampons.

This one speaks for itself, I think. Yes, I was that girl (multiple times). With my stash of cloth pads, I will never be that girl again. Thank goodness.

5. You might actually feel GOOD about your period.

The monthly ritual of using my GladRags makes me feel like I’m taking extra care of my body. When I use cloth pads, I find a deeper appreciation of my cycle and the work my body is doing. I no longer feel like my period is some sort of medical problem that needs to be bandaged up; rather, I feel like I’m honoring my body by making a healthy choice. My period is not always a welcome visitor, but it’s certainly not a curse since I switched to cloth!

About the author of this post:
Tracy Puhl is the owner of GladRags and is passionate about period positivity and empowering women everywhere. In her free time, she likes to volunteer, run around her neighborhood, and cuddle with her favorite cat.

While many of us know the reasons why washable cloth pads and menstrual cups are good for our bodies and the environment, there are plenty of women who still have questions about the practical aspects of reusables. I recently worked with the Mothering Community to answer common questions and had a great time! I love helping women understand how cloth pads or menstrual cups can make their lives easier. Read on for my answers to the top questions…

Q: “Clean up!”

A: Cleaning cloth pads is actually quite simple! There’s a great thread in the Mothering community about soaking (or not!) your pads here.

My post, 7 Tips to Make your Cloth Pads Last Longer, also touches on some of the cleaning & care practices that will keep your pads as good as new!

Q: “I use cloth pads already but I’d like the option of using a cup too, but what holds me back is being uncertain of how to choose the correct size.”

A: Choosing a size can be daunting, but it’s really pretty simple. Most cups we carry make the distinction between whether you’ve given birth or not. Don’t worry about comparing millimeters or getting too complex — just choose the larger size if you’ve given birth or are over 35 (because of the way our bodies change as we age).  We have a very simple guide here that can be helpful.  We also encourage anyone who is feeling confused to get in touch with us and talk it out! We are always happy to help.

Q: “Frequent UTIs” and “I’ve heard people say that the reusable cups cause yeast infections. I’m prone to issues in that department. That’s what holds me back.”

A: Actually, if you’re prone to infections, reusables are a GREAT option. Many women report decreased infections after making the switch (probably due to the fact that the disposables they are using have caused irritation which exacerbates any predisposition). The one caveat is if you use a menstrual cup or cloth pad during a yeast infection, you’ll want to take extra care to sanitize the product so it doesn’t continue the infection. Otherwise, you may find relief with reusables!

Q: “Can you use the cup with an IUD?”

A: We used to say no, but now we can say: talk to your doctor first, but you probably can! A recent study out of Canada found that menstrual cups did not significantly increase IUD expulsion rate when compared to pads and tampons. So be careful, but plenty of women with IUDs are happily rockin’ the menstrual cup.

Q: “Looking forward to non-plastic Moon Cup…”

A: The Moon Cup is made of medical-grade silicone, not plastic. None of our products include plastic — we think our sensitive parts (and yours!) deserve better.

Q: “Worried about the leaking and inserting it properly. And they say to rinse and reinsert… how do you do that in a public bathroom stall? And even at home… hobble to the sink to rinse hoping you don’t pour out while doing that? I would love to make this change in my life, but don’t feel comfortable!”

A: Good news: we definitely don’t recommend you bringing your cup out of the stall in the public restroom! Instead, simply remain seated on the toilet, pull the cup straight down and hold firmly with your fingertips. Once it’s removed, just tip the contents into the toilet. You can wipe the cup off with toilet paper or wipes, then reinsert. All in all, it’s about as messy as an applicatorless tampon (which is to say, not very). No one in the other stall will even know what you’re doing! When you’re at home, empty the contents of the cup into the toilet, then rinse and reinsert the empty cup.

Q: “What if I make the investment and I don’t like it?”

A: If it doesn’t work for you, we don’t think it’s fair to keep your money! We have a 90-day money-back guarantee on all of our branded products (GladRags cloth pads, The Moon Cup, and The Keeper). Now, don’t freak out! We won’t ask you to mail anything back (because we would never sell anything used, obviously!) and it’s a simple process to get a full refund on these products. We’re able to offer this because so few customers take us up on it — most women love their new way of managing their periods.

Q: “I feel more safe with a hermetically sealed tampon versus something I have to make sure is sanitary myself…”

A: Tampons and disposable pads are actually not sterile — they’re just bleached and packaged to seem that way! Personally, I trust myself more than I trust some random factory overseas to keep my menstrual supplies clean! Remember the moldy tampon incident? Yuck. And it’s not as complicated as it seems to keep your pads or cup clean. If you can keep your undies clean, you can handle reusables!

Q: “My husband is grossed out about the pads. Which is some kind of weird societal hangup, because we cloth diaper. Every time I say I’m going to buy some, he runs to the big-box store and picks up a giant pack of disposables.”

A: This is a really common reaction, unfortunately. We’re implicitly taught from a young age that menstruation is scary, shameful, and unclean and it can take time to “unlearn” these negative thoughts. While it may take him some time to get used to the idea, we hear from customers a lot that their husbands eventually come around! One of our customers writes, “He loves the money we save, not having to buy me any feminine products, no funny smells, and he never knows when my time is because I don’t get PMS or cramps anymore. I am happy and he is happy for me.” Ultimately, I’d encourage you to remember: it’s your body, and the type of menstrual care you use is your choice!

Q: “My teenagers and I don’t use tampons. I would use these products except I worry about leaks and keeping them clean when we are away from home (which is a lot). Also I wonder what their friends would think.”

A: You can use a menstrual cup if you don’t use tampons, although it may take a little bit of getting used it! I answer questions about using menstrual cups in public above, so I’ll discuss pads here. Using cloth pads on the go is fairly simply: just bring a small wet/dry bag with you. I have used my GladRags while traveling, visiting relatives, at a previous job in an office building, at networking events, while camping, etc…. And you know what? No one has ever once noticed that I was doing something “different”!

As far as leakage, lots of women find that cloth actually works better for them than disposables. Cloth pads won’t bunch, twist, or stick to your leg like adhesive pads can, and they have an absorbent core to keep you leak-free. To stay comfortable and secure, just make sure you change your pad frequently enough (about as often as you would a disposable) and choose the right absorbency for your flow. If you need help choosing, get in touch with us! We know what works and are happy to help find the right pad for you.

Q: “I’d like to but simply haven’t made the purchase yet. Nothing is really holding me back besides fear of the unknown.”

A: This is something we hear a lot. All I can say is — take the leap! Stepping into the “unknown” world of menstrual products has changed the lives of so many women… why not yours?

Still have questions? Visit our FAQ page to learn more!

About the author of this post:
Tracy Puhl is the owner of GladRags and is passionate about period positivity and empowering women everywhere. In her free time, she likes to volunteer, run around her neighborhood, and cuddle with her favorite cat.

Childhood days

I grew up in a very small semi urban town called Garhwa in the state of Jharkhand in India. I come from a conservative middle class society where menstruation is still a taboo. As a child I remember, I would get curious about sanitary napkins while watching advertisements on TV. My mother would get embarrassed and try to avoid the subject. When I explicitly asked her about it, she told “you would know about it once you grow up”.

At the age of 11, I met with a serious accident and was totally bed ridden for months. My mother would fix a narrow pipe to my urinary tract to help me with urination. One day while fixing the pipe my mother saw some traces of blood in my vagina which was actually due to a minor cut received earlier while fixing the pipe. She thought I have started my periods and she told me about periods for the first time. She said that all girls and women get it. I was the youngest among my cousins and they had already started getting their periods. I realized why suddenly all my elder cousin sisters had started their private conversations and wouldn’t let me be a part of it.

First period and the burden of myths

I got my first period when I was 12 years old. I informed about it to my mother and she made me bathe with 2 and half mug of water. By doing so, she believed my flow would last only for 2 and half days. Nevertheless, I was a heavy bleeder like my mother and my flow would last for at least 7 days if not more. I started off with using old discarded cotton cloth folded in the shape of a pad to absorb the flow. I used to get debilitating cramps and my daily routine would go for a toss. Things became worse when restrictions arising from age old myths were thrust upon me during my periods. I wasn’t allowed to sit on other’s bed but just mine. I wasn’t allowed to touch the place of worship or anything holy in the house. I had to wash and dry my cloths separately. During periods I wasn’t allowed to eat or touch pickle as it was believed that they would get spoilt if I touched them. After my periods would get over, I had to wash the bed sheet whether it’s stained or not. In short, I was treated as impure or polluted and I was expected to have become “pure” only after the 7^th day when I had taken a bath and washed my hair.

I was strictly told by my mother to not let my father or brothers get even a hint of my periods. Since menstrual blood is considered impure, I and mom used to store the used and washed cloth pads in a very dark, damp and not so clean corner of the bathroom. Even today I feel sorry for the 12 year old me. My parents are well educated and were financially well off. We could have easily afforded sanitary pads but the question was who would go to buy them and risk their and the family’s dignity. Back in 1992 and even today in many societies menstruation is an unspeakable curse.

I got my first period when I was in class 7^th, and many of my friends did too. But the subject of menstruation was not introduced in our textbooks well until we were in class 9^th. Our biology teacher was a male and he asked us to go through the chapter on our own and ask him in case we had any doubts about it. The teacher was quite friendly to us and obviously his skipping the chapter made the whole subject of menstruation and child-birth a taboo for us. We learnt to deny our own body, our own self right from the time we start growing up and then everything surrounding it, be it child molestation, rape, periods, pregnancy, intercourse, even touching and hugging becomes shameful and embarrassing.

All this while I only knew that period were important so that I can have a baby some day in future. Becoming a mother is a big deal and a very important aspect of women in our societies. Woman who can’t bear child are considered unfortunate, unlucky and have no respect within the family or in the society.

Goodbye rags

Due to lack of better education I took admission in a school in a different city away from my home. I had to stay in a hostel. There was only one bathroom for every 10 girls. Washing and drying cloth pads was not possible there. I saw my roommate using whisper napkin. She told that one can easily buy them at the medical stores. So I went to the medical shop and very shyly asked for the brand name, the shop keeper wrapped the packet with paper and then put it in a black poly bag and gave it to me. I was using sanitary napkins for the first time at the age of 15. It was so much dry, less messy and comfortable as compared to using cloth pieces as pads. Over the next 12 years I had tried, testing and using napkins of various brands and absorbencies.

During my post graduation days, I got into a relationship with one of my batch mates, Tuhin. Tuhin was an activity partner and we often worked on projects together. We are now happily married. Tuhin has only one sibling, a younger brother, so he never got a chance to know about periods beyond what’s taught in the biology textbooks in the schools. After knowing about the inconvenience that I went through every month, Tuhin started to search for more information on menstruation and different ways to manage it in the hope that he could be of some help during those days of the month. He told me many things that I myself did not know about periods. It occurred to us that if there are so many essential things about menstruation that’s unknown to me even after having periods for past several years and in spite of being well educated, there must be millions others who might be ignorant about menstrual management. So I took up a yearlong project on menstrual awareness. This research project had laid the grounds for Menstrupedia.

Tampons

While working in Mumbai, I had joined swimming classes. I enjoyed swimming a lot and wondered how am I going to continue during my periods? That’s when I learnt about tampons and started using them but was always wary about TSS. Every time I used them I had to keep track of time to change them.

Menstrual cups

It was during late last year that I and Tuhin started our initiative Menstrupedia with the hope of sharing our knowledge and experiences about menstruation. While researching about the subject I came across menstrual cups many times but never felt a need to dig enough to know about them or maybe I was too comfortable and structured to try anything other than pad or tampon. While researching about various menstrual products, Tuhin found that the benefits of menstrual cup along with the overtly positive user testimonials made it definitely worth a try. So we bought a menstrual cup. Since then I have been using it without complaint. It has not only saved me money but also the trouble of buying fresh supply of pads or tampons every period and I don’t have to worry about waste disposal anymore and I would never like to go back to using pads and tampons anymore. That leaves me wondering, had I known about these different, better ways to manage periods, I wouldn’t have had to bear the agony of being a girl every month.

 Aditi Gupta is the founder of Menstrupedia. She believes in spreading awareness about menstruation in a fun and entertaining manner. In her free time she blogs about crafts made from common household waste along with the DIY tutorials.

Did you miss our Facebook Q&A with Nicole Jardim of The Healthy Elements? Not to worry! We’ve collected some of the top questions and Nicole’s answers here. Thanks to everyone who participated — it was a super fun and informative hour!

What’s the best way to prevent pre-menstrual bloating and sore breasts?

There are many ways to reverse these issues. You want to start incorporating vegetables that reduce water retention during the second half of your cycle. There are things like fennel (that’s a great one).

These issues might be caused by something called Estrogen Dominance, where estrogen becomes too high in your body in relation to progesterone. Symptoms include your symptoms as well as emotional symptoms that we experience before our period.

My best foods for reducing estrogen in our bodies are cruciferous leafy green vegetables, kale in particular. You can also try collard greens and mustard greens. You should eat them once a day. Cruciferous veggies have a compound in them called DIM that helps metabolize estrogen so any excess can be removed.

How can my diet or other lifestyle factors help with chronic yeast infections? I’ve started eating yogurt often.

I highly recommend other foods that have a high probiotic count besides dairy. Dairy has been known to cause blockages in the reproductive organs for some women because it can be very mucus forming. I strongly recommend sauerkraut, it is full of probiotic good bacteria that will help rebalance your gut bacteria and ultimately your vaginal bacteria.

I struggled with chronic yeast issues for a long time and I found cutting out bread and incorporating foods that were fermented (like sauerkraut) were the best things. Also, I definitely recommend a probiotic tablet like Renew Life Ultimate Flora Vaginal Support. It gets rid of chronic yeast issues very well!

Do you actually lose enough blood each month to make you anemic, if you have a tendency for that? Why do I sometimes feel dizzy around that time and not at other times?

I have felt that dizzy feeling on the first day of my period. Honestly, it’s your body telling you to slow down. Women are very cyclical by nature and at this time of the month, traditionally all women took a day or two of rest. Unfortunately we can’t do that all the time but if there is a way for you to start slowing down the couple of days before your period that would be a great start.

At the same time you could also be anemic, many women are. However, you don’t want to be. I would suggest checking to see if you are anemic through blood work and then getting enough iron into your diet through food. Also make sure you get enough vitamin C because it helps iron get absorbed by the body. I find a ton of things can be restored once you address the underlying nutritional deficiencies.

 I’m planning on switching from taking birth control pills to the standard days method, do you have any recommendations when it comes to making the switch? Ever since I started the pill I’ve had problems with yeast infections and want to switch to a natural method.

I use and highly recommend the Fertility Awareness Method. It was created by a woman named Tori Wechsler. This of course takes time before you should use as birth control but it can be highly effective for birth control and for baby making  Tori wrote a book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility and you should definitely get it. This method involves taking your basal body temperature each morning. It can be a little confusing at first but once you get it, you’ll know your body and your cycle so well!

What resources (online or easily accessible) do you recommend for people to educate themselves about ‘natural’ healthy cycles and how their menstrual system works? Thanks!

Download  The Healthy Elements Women’s Health Resource List.

This guest post comes to us from Nicole, a women’s holistic health coach and the creator of Fix Your Period, a series of private and group programs that empower women to heal their menstrual conditions in a sassy and fun way. Join us Wednesday, February 20th, at 11 am PST/2 pm EST for a live Q&A session with Nicole on our Facebook page. Nicole will be answering your questions about diet, hormones, and health, to help you learn to love your period!

I used to be that girl who dreaded the week before my period AND my period. It would begin with the ridiculous sugar cravings (yes the kind where eating a whole chocolate cake would be just fine), then the bloating would start (probably because of the whole chocolate cake), soon after I’d morph into someone I didn’t recognize and it would all culminate in the worst cramps ever (think the kind of cramps that make you throw up and want to pass out). Then I’d finally get my period! That was my life for many years and I felt like I had no control over my body or what was happening to it every month. Approximately 80% of women struggle with similar issues every single month so I’m sure you can relate.

Eventually I figured out that I do have control – I have control over the food that I eat and how I live my life. Who knew!? I have learned over the years that every bite you take counts when it comes to how your body functions and how you want to feel physically and emotionally. Yes, food affects you emotionally. I have also learned that the main cause of PMS symptoms is an underlying hormonal imbalance in which your estrogen levels increase while your progesterone levels stay the same or decrease. This is known as Estrogen Dominance and it is very prevalent in younger women. The good news is its totally treatable by changing the food that you eat!

Check out my top three foods for combatting those dreaded PMS symptoms:

1. Dark leafy greens:

I’m sure you hear about them often but the term “dark leafy greens” might seem a little ambiguous. For instance, I used to go into Whole Foods and stare at the vast selection of green vegetables wondering what I could possibly do with any of them. Eventually I’d give up and walk out defeated and empty-handed. Then I did a little research and discovered that there are so many ways to cook and

Leafy greens have three crucial nutrients your body needs to eliminate PMS symptoms:  calcium, magnesium and the B vitamins. Calcium combats bloating and helps regulate brain chemicals that affect our mood. Magnesium is a muscle relaxant and therefore helps the uterine muscles relax, reducing or eliminating menstrual cramps. B vitamins, in particular B6, increase the rate at which the liver de-activates excess estrogen and sends it to the colon for removal.eat them. My favorites are kale, swiss chard, spinach and beet greens.

2. Complex carbohydrates:
Brown rice, quinoa and sweet potatoes are my absolute favorites. Complex carbohydrates provide sustained and high-quality energy because the body digests them slowly. Their high fiber content regulates blood sugar and gets the bowels moving! As I mentioned above, once your liver de-activates excess estrogen, it is sent to the colon for removal. So, in order to actually excrete the excess estrogen from your body you need to have enough fiber to move it on out. Otherwise, the estrogen will get reabsorbed back into your blood, even after your liver has tried to remove it. As you can imagine, this is no good.

FYI: carbohydrates such as white rice and white bread don’t count! Once eaten, they act the same as a chocolate bar, spiking and then crashing your blood sugar soon after. This will worsen the symptoms of a hormonal imbalance – namely that crazy-girl behavior that is so prevalent during PMS time.

3. Foods with Omega-3 Fatty Acids:
There has been lots of talk in recent years about Omega-3’s, and for good reason. Without getting too scientific, I’ll say that Omega-3 fatty acids suppress the production of inflammation-causing compounds in the body, thus reducing conditions caused by inflammation.

Scientists have found a correlation between low omega-3 concentrations in the blood and increased menstrual cramps, breast tenderness, nausea, headaches and depression. Hello, awesome! The fish that are highest in omega-3 fatty acids are salmon, sardines and tuna. For those of you who don’t eat seafood or don’t have access to it I recommend eating lots of avocados, walnuts and chia seeds and/or taking a daily fish oil supplement that provides 1000mg of Omega-3’s.

Okay, that about sums up the very best foods you should be eating all month long to reduce or eliminate your PMS symptoms. Remember, you don’t have to continue to suffer. The truth is that suffering every month is completely unnecessary and you have the power to change it!

Nicole Jardim is a women’s holistic health coach and founder of The Healthy Elements, where she helps women fix their periods one hormone at a time. 

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: Since 2008-2009

Reason for making the switch to reusables: I was taking a class on feminism and pop culture, and came across articles and stories of these cups and pads, that womyn made and advocated. I felt so empowered that I had to try it myself, and it was around the time that I was becoming aware of waste, sustainability, organic food, etc. After the first months, I was hooked! I talked to my friends, family, men and womyn about reusables! I still do! I hold workshops at schools, gardens, and at homes about these products!

Tell us a little about yourself. What do want our readers to know about you?

I am a 46 year-old mother of three teenagers. Morgan, Leo and Alex. 19, 16, 13. Despite their androgynous names, Leo is the only boy. For the past 10 years I have been a stay at home mother and have relished the opportunity to spend time with and really know my kids.

I consider myself a creative person and having children really helped release this through craftwork done together, from making scrapbooks, painting, modeling with clay (which my son shows a tremendous talent for and I believe may someday be a famous sculptor), and jewelry making. I live an active lifestyle and enjoy swimming, playing soccer with a local league of middle-aged women, gardening, and taking long walks with our dog.

I’m also an avid reader and find myself drawn to contemporary female fiction. The way I see it reading about another woman’s life creates a broader sense of understanding and empathy of the human condition. I like being transported through words and that reading is an active engagement of the mind and not passive like watching television or movies.

What is FEBY? How does it work?

Feby is an acronym (sort of) for Female Empowerment Bracelet. Basically, it is a calendar for the menstrual cycle in the form of a bracelet. The bracelet consists of 28 wooden beads with different colors in a determined sequence that follows the pattern of the average menstrual cycle. All a user has to do to determine what phase of the cycle she’s currently in is to pull the knot that holds the bracelet together through one bead in a clockwise direction and the color it rests before will be the day she is living that day.

The bracelet starts with 5 red beads signifying the days of an average woman’s period, and then flows into white (which represents neutrality or non-fertile), through a spectrum of pinks which symbolize ovulation and fertility and the brighter the pink the higher the chances she is ovulating, back to white for a few days before the 3 black beads which illustrate pre-menstrual syndrome, and then it’s back to red. Our tag line is “What to expect when you’re NOT expecting.”

Each bracelet comes with an information pamphlet that explains the different phases in greater detail, along with where the user can contact us through our website, facebook, twitter, pinterest and google-plus.

I have received some concern from women who don’t have an ‘average’ cycle and while it’s true that Feby won’t work for all women, it will work for most and I choose to concentrate on that positive. Also, it takes young women a few years to develop a regular pattern and even over the course of her life can vary from month to month based on personal factors like stress and overall health.

What inspired you to create FEBY?

I was inspired to create Feby when my eldest daughter was in grade 8 at the local public school and received some information in health class about her period and what to expect. Talking about it with her made me realize that she wasn’t being given quite enough information to fully understand the menstrual cycle, and it also occurred to me that nothing had really changed in all the years since I had the same class in the 70’s. Simply telling young women that they will be extremely fertile approximately 14 days after the first day of her period just didn’t seem enough.

I thought about all my friends in high school and college who got pregnant unintentionally and how that fact influenced the rest of their lives because they either had the child, gave the child up for adoption, or aborted the pregnancy, all which change the course of a life or leave permanent physical and emotional scars. Understanding their bodies and menstrual cycle is such an important lesson for women to learn and I struggled with how it could be taught more effectively.

I personally, could never take the birth control pill as it caused high blood pressure when I was a fit 21 year-old. I didn’t think it made much sense to take another pill which would treat the high blood pressure when I could just stop taking the pill that caused the problem in the first place.

As such I became very familiar with the roller coaster ride of surging hormones and have been charting my cycle for decades. I use that information along with research on the average cycle and noticed how many diagrams consist of 28 days in a circle which led me to think of creating a bracelet based on it.

It’s curious how ideas come together and at the time I was grappling with the idea for the bracelet, I was also reading “The Heroin Diaries” by Nikki Sixx and the book is different in that instead of just black and white there was also a lot of red on every page. That infused my decision to use those colours in the bracelet and the pink to denote fertility just seemed an obvious choice.I was also wrestling with the idea of how to denote the day the user is on. Ironically the full moon was shining so bright through my window it woke me up at the exact moment I thought of using the knot to be the indicator. I say ironic because the moon and women are linked in a profound way, especially concerning our cycles.

All this said we do not market Feby as a method of birth control but it does give the user a better understanding of their cycle position so it encourages them to make wise decisions based on that information.

What’s your background? What were you doing before FEBY?

I’m a college graduate who enjoyed much success as a travel agent for high-end corporate clients for 15 years. By the time the third baby came along though, my husband’s millwork company was doing quite well and we decided together that I should leave my job and focus on raising the children since most of my salary was going towards child care anyways. I had visions of becoming a mom who had the time to bake cookies, coach my kid’s soccer team, make handmade Hallowe’en costumes, and really know my children and enjoy their childhood to the best of my ability. I am very fortunate as I consider the relationship I have with my children to be solid and strong and I have no regrets about leaving my career for them. Now, however, they need me less but the travel industry has changed so much with the advent of the internet so I feel no inclination to return to that field.

I started Feby with the support of my family and a small loan from our bank and am dedicating the next chapter of my life to making it a profitable and meaningful company. My goal is to get Feby in as many hands as possible as I have full confidence in it and know it can positively impact many. It’s intriguing to me that in the process of creating and marketing a tool to empower women, I have not only empowered myself but all the lovely women who have tirelessly hand-beaded the bracelets with me and earned a fair wage for their work.

It looks like many FEBY fans are young girls just entering the first stages of womanhood. Do you remember your first period? What was it like?

You are right in that the FEBY bracelets seem to appeal most to young girls just learning about their menstrual cycle. Many have told me that the bracelet offers a fun way to learn and makes talking about a potentially uncomfortable topic easier.

I was lucky in that my own first period came at an age when I was eagerly anticipating its’ arrival and was fully prepared (mostly because of my aforementioned love of reading and learning on my own with the help of Judy Blume and my parents family health guide about what to expect). I had just turned 14 and it was the summer before high school so I felt more than ready for this momentous day to arrive.

Like most first periods though, it didn’t happen at the most opportune time. I was in the city with a friend watching Terry Fox as his Marathon of Hope passed through but had to leave our spot on the sidelines when I felt the unfamiliar trickle between my legs. I snuck into a nearby coffee shop and used their facilities and bought a 10 cent sanitary napkin for the dispenser in the lady’s room, and stuffed 2 more in my knapsack because I didn’t know how frequently I would need to change it. I managed to contain my new womanly situation and still saw my hero so for me, it was a wonderful day that I will always remember with a smile and I know how rare and fortunate that is.

For more information on FEBY and how you can purchase your own, visit www.feby.com!

Toxic Shock Syndrome… it’s a big deal. Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) occurs when a common bacteria creates a toxin that is then absorbed into your bloodstream. Tampons are often the culprit, possibly because they overdry the vagina and cause micro-tears where the bacteria can easily get in.

One of the scariest things about TSS is that often it can masquerade as another malady. Because its symptoms such as sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, and high fever can be indicative of many illnesses, women with TSS may not realize what it is until it’s too late.

Over half of the incidences of TSS are tampon related. The effects of untreated or late-treated TSS can range from mild to severe, anything from gangrene, short term memory loss, loss of hair or nails, continual infections, loss of energy for weeks or years. TSS can be fatal; this is serious business!

If you suspect you or someone you know has fallen ill due to Toxic Shock Syndrome, urge them to remove (and save, if possible) their tampon. Get them or yourself medical attention IMMEDIATELY and inform the doctor that you have been using tampons.