The First Menstruation Experience among Student Girls

Introduction: Puberty is a beginning of significant developments to adolescents. This event is associated with many changes in different aspects of an individual’s life. One of the changes is menstruation. The first menstruation (or menarche) is a natural phenomenon and an important occurrence in a girl’s life, but sometimes it involves physical disturbances and health challenges that can have negative physical, mental and social effects. The literature indicates a strong relationship between understanding menstruation and cultural backgrounds. This study was carried out to explore the first menstruation experience among student girls. Method: 17 student girls were selected by purposeful sampling from target high schools. For data gathering, semi-structured interviews and the focus group method were used. The data were analyzed through a qualitative content analysis based on Graham and landsman method. Results: The findings of this study showed 5 themes including: inadequate readiness, paradox feeling, numerous problems, support, and subjective and serious event occurrence. Conclusion: The findings of this study gave a clear understanding of the menarche phenomenon in student girls. This understanding can be enriched by future studies and considering the above mentioned themes. These categories and themes can be used in teaching girls, mothers and instructors. Hence, a better understanding of girls’ wishes and concerns in this context is useful and vital.. Keywords: Menarche, Student girls, Qualitative content analysis, Experience