Early menarche, when girls start menstruating as early as 8 or 9 years is becoming increasingly common in Ghana and parents and young girls are in a dilemma navigating this reality.
Early menarche, is the first menstruation of a young girl at a younger age than the average of 13 years.
Studies have shown that some girls in Ghana experience their first period as early as 9 years old, while others may not experience it until 16 years old.
While the average age of first menstruation varies globally, girls starting their periods from 8 years old is unusually early and the trend appears common here in Ghana.
Henrietta Ankrah a form two student, was just 12 years old when she got her first period, a milestone many young girls are navigating today.
With her beautiful dark skin and glaring eyes of innocence, she tells me she had no idea what was happening to her body at the time.
She remembers the date to the 2nd of September. Indeed, a moment no young girl will not easily forget in her lifetime. With a childish look on her face, she reminisced the shock she felt that moment.
‘‘I saw blood in my panty when I woke up from sleep and I told my mother, it was painful not in the stomach but at the abdomen. She will give me para or something and I will sleep.
Henrietta had her mother to guide her.
‘‘My mother told me that it means I can get pregnant when I have sex with a man so if anyone calls me, I should come and tell her, and she will go and warn the person.’’
Her mother, Ruby Ankrah though worried when it happened, had some consolation.
‘‘She came to inform me when it first happened, and I assisted her on what to do. It was early but I knew a lot of young girls who had theirs 8 and 9 years so I was grateful that she had hers at 12 years,” she said.
It is no secret that Girls who experience early menstruation are more likely to engage in early sexual activity, increasing their risk of teenage pregnancy, induced abortion, preeclampsia, eclampsia, obstructed labour, and maternal mortality.
So Henrietta’s mother was watchful over her daughter.
‘‘It was a difficult moment, and I panicked but it’s a time that every mother needs to watch out and assist their young girls when the time comes. They don’t know anything at the state and so they must be guided.’’
Henrietta’s parent is not the only parent battling such a dilemma. Many homes I visited had a child or two having their menstruation at the ages of 10 and 11.
Aunty Ama, one of the mothers said she wept when her child had hers at 10. She blamed the foods on the markets.
“My child had hers at 10. In-fact I wept. I told a friend who said it was normal. We advised her and she is fine.’’
Many households have had a child or two experience early menstruation, and there is considerable confusion about the underlying causes.
An Obstetric Gynecologist at Isecorm medical and fertility centre Dr. Isaac Secorm says the causes of the trend are multi-faceted but the important thing is for the country to identify its implications on the economy.
“People believe it’s as a result of food, climate change and a whole lot. But its multifaceted and the bottom line is that we need to identify the trend and its implications on the country,’’ he said.
While early menarche tends to be associated with a longer reproductive period and therefore often coincides with a later menopause, it does not guarantee it.
And Dr. Isaac Secorm warns parents need to be on the lookout for their young girls.
‘‘At this stage, a lot of things ae happening to the young girl and so she must be monitored, else she will get pregnant and when she does, the likelihood for complications is high since the birth canal may have not been properly developed,”he advised.
The odds of adolescent reproductive health issues, particularly among young girls experiencing early menstruation, are concerning.
There is therefore the need for an intensified awareness creation at the basic level to ensure the girl child is well informed to tackle the moment when it arrives.
