My first period came when I was 14 years old. I remember feeling relieved as most of my friends already had periods. I felt embarrassed to tell my mum as we hadn’t spoken about it much – I had learned about it from my friends.
My mum gave me some Dr Whites pads – thick cotton with loops which were held in place with a belt with hooks or safety pins in my knickers. I was so scared that blood would leak out so I wore two pairs of gym knickers.
After a couple of days the bleeding stopped so I thought that was it. It was exam time and at school the bleeding started again. I had a handkerchief-red spotted -so I put that in my pants. I can remember sitting there in the exam, frightened that when I got up, there would be blood on my red gingham dress!
