Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Women's Health
MENSTRUAL CUPS
Menstruation has been the albatross around the waists of women since the beginning of time. Period.
Labeled “unclean,” forced to stay in their huts, shoving vaguely sanitary towels between their legs and whispering “M” to gym teachers to dodge swimming class in high school, that time of the month has a history of pushing women aside.
It took nearly 90 years of sanitary pad production before anyone thought to add an adhesive strip. Tampons have their own set of concerns. And just a few years ago, even those options were dealt a blow when forever chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS) were found in both products.
Before retreating to your hut for two to seven days each month, consider a menstrual cup.
Though the design is relatively unchanged since the 1930s, its popularity has only reached targeted Facebook ad potential in the past several years.
“It’s a great option for those who are looking for an alternative to traditional pads and tampons for collecting period blood. They are comfortable, environmentally sustainable and not bulky,” said Grace Ferguson, an Allegheny Health Network Ob/ Gyn.
“You can purchase one and use it for up to 10 years with the proper care. It’s easy to learn, and encourages an increased engagement with your body and period flow because you’ll be able to have a more accurate assessment of how heavy or light your flow may be at any given time. It’s also a more affordable option when compared to buying tampons or pads every month.”
It’s far more hands-on than the alternatives, but if that isn’t a turn-off, menstrual cups (priced at around $6 to $50) are easy to forget about. And that’s perfectly safe since they don’t carry the risk of toxic shock syndrome that tampons do.
Finally, we can live up to the commercials and prance through a blooming meadow, all while being good stewards to Mother Earth.