Do you think that we should get menstrual leave?

[Sarahpaula]

I have had such a terrible period this month. I was in so much pain. I feel so weak and tired. I know that many women feel like this. Do you think we should have an entitlement to menstrual leave from work?

Some countries already have menstrual leave in place. Mainly in Asia, from what I can see.

Here is an article:

in Taiwan, menstrual leave legislation was amended as recently as 2013. It guarantees women three days of menstrual leave a year on top of the 30 days half-paid sick leave given to all workers.
The extra three days came after a coalition of politicians claimed that incorporating menstrual leave into regular sick leave would be a violation of women’s rights. Indonesian women, too, are allowed two days a month menstrual leave and South Korean workers AND students are entitled to take days off when they’ve got their period as sick leave.

And thanks all

Weirdest turn of a thread I’ve ever seen

I agree with BIWI

@Pumperthepumper

I’m happy for it to be deleted, you asked the question Earrings and I answered it.

Hang on - don't make it about me! You said it! Mental.

I can see this going down really well in school - sorry kids I can’t teach you right now I’ve got my period. If it was really so bad that I couldn’t work I would use sick leave and if it was a regular problem I would see my doctor for help.

Agree that this obsession with bluntness is weird and creepy as fck. It’s making you look like one of those angry neck beards who lives in his parents basement.

I don't believe we should get menstrual leave. And I hate my period too but - I'm not too ill to work because of it. Yes it's uncomfortable and sometimes painful - but I don't call in sick with a cold either so I think it's just life and we should suck it up.

Now when your period is bad enough to soak through or leave you in bed then that's a medical issue you need to speak to GP about but I don't think an employer should cover it, just like

Well this got weird...

On the main subject of the thread, this is key:
"What we need isn't menstrual leave but a health system that takes gynaecological pain seriously."

A poster up thread said her consultant told her that in 1/4 cases the cause of pain isn't found. That means in 3/4 it can be. And presumably can then be treated. But it often takes years and a lot of persistence.

As others have said, we need better gynae care. I suffered really heavy periods, flooding through clothes as a teenager. Into my twenties I often had 2 periods a month with a lot of pain. On many occasions I was semi conscious at work due to the severity of the pain. Is not just as simple as going to the doctor's and your all sorted. It took me 7 years and 5 different Gynae consultants before one finally said I think there might be something wrong. My insides were such a mess with endometriosis.

I think the products should be free.

It's bad enough having to endure those 7 horrible days every single month for no advantage whatsoever let alone paying for the privilege.

And running pill packs together doesn't necessarily stop you getting your monthly bleeds, from experience. I really wish that trick worked.

I have to change my pad every 30 minutes or even more often for at least 1 or sometimes two days of my period. I’ve had surgery for endometriosis that helped but only for a couple of years. Tranexamic acid helps but it makes me nauseous. I am a freelance consultant and work from home but if I didn’t I’d have literally no choice but to stay home. The last time I did work in an office I got push back when I euphemistically asked to work from home once or twice a month as needed for “personal issues” and my male boss said he needed to ‘understand my request’, so I sent him an email explaining my monthly bleeding in detail. He sent a one word reply- ‘fine’. This was the same office where a different man complained that I had a box of pads in my drawer that he could see when I opened it and he thought it was unprofessional.

Unless your periods are causing you pain, why do you need time off for them? And if they are causing pain and for you to feel ill, then sick leave applies. I don’t want special dispensation for being a woman. I don’t want allowances made because of my biological make up. And I don’t want to spend my life in battle with men and view them as the enemy just because of biology. I’m equal in the workplace and I’m equal in life and I don’t have the energy to be perma-angry at men in general because of biology, it’s hardly their fault!

No, OP, I don’t agree.

Goodness... posters saying that if periods are "that bad" then to take sick leave... I don't know about your company but mine only allows 3 periods of sickness in a rolling 12 month. As I have a period every month that will inevitably mean staying home from work for 1/2 days a month, this could mean losing my job due to my period. If only we were allowed unlimited sick days eh!

As I mentioned previously, my Manager allows me to WFH when I can manage it, but I'm not sure everyone is that lucky.

Also the "go to your Doctor if it's that bad" comments. I've been seeing Doctor's about my period since I was 16. I've been placed on the pill (didn't help) and am still after all these years seeing a gynae consultant who has tried everything from physiotherapy to acupuncture. No one knows why my period pain is so bad that I've had to call an ambulance more than once. I've had numerous internal ultrasounds but everything "looks normal".

I am currently on oramorph (liquid morphine) to help with the pain management so I defy anyone who thinks period pain can't be THAT bad.

Let's not even mention the fact I bleed through tampons in less than 5 mins (RIP every pair of pants I've ever owned)

If we did I’ll stop taking my mini pill right now!!

Periods should not be debilitating.

Yes, a little cramping and a heavier flow on days 1-2 is to be expected. Periods should not see you out of action for days on end though. Why do women accept it and put up with it when they do?

If we had excruciating pain in our heads, our knees, our feet for one week out of every month, we would not put up with it. If our noses or our gums bled profusely, we would not put up with it. If the doctor fobbed us off when we presented with agonising pain in our wrists, we would see another GP at the practice. Maybe we would move to a different surgery. If the dentist told us that painful, bleeding gums were 'normal', we'd make the effort to change, to see someone else. Why do we accept blood gushing from our vaginas and extreme pain in our uteri? Why do we accept GPs telling us there is nothing they can do?

So it's a 'no' to menstrual leave for me. We could not expect continued sympathy from our employers if we suffered from disabling migraines which affected our attendance yet did nothing about them. If I was a manager, one thing I would be happy to facilitate is time off for appointments - nobody should fault an employee who is doing their utmost to get to the bottom of things.

Exactly @ouch321. I was told by my GP she was referring me for a laparoscopy. When I finally got to the hospital appt they said I'd been mislead.

Instead they gave me pill packs to ru together for 3 monthsand my bleed came through after 1 1/2 months anyway.

YABU

Yes...not because most women will need to access it, but because women with endometriosis should not be penalized due to their sex-specific illness.

These women face having to use up all leave on a female-specific issue, one which occurs consistently and over an entire career for some. This puts them at a massive disadvantage when compared to men.

However, it should go hand in hand with a campaign to fund and find a cure for endo.

I'm not an endo sufferer, btw. I wouldn't have taken a single day of menstrual leave because I was never in need of it. Some women are.
I know women's issues are seen as old-fashioned these days, but this is a genuine one worth thinking about.

I think only if it’s bad pain/endometriosis. You probably need it more if you work on your feet in retail etc. I’d assume less so in a desk job.

I get bad pain in my episiotomy scar when I’m on my period, so I do have sympathy. It’s generally ok when sitting down, but I wouldn’t be able to stand/walk for a long time.

I think maybe optional leave if you need it, but some would abuse the system.

No

I have suffered with terrible period pain in the past. After years of seeing various GPS I got prescribed mefanamic acid to control it but occasionally I didn’t take it in time or just had a really bad month.
When that happened I took sick leave briefly and explained to my boss (even a male boss once, as why be ashamed of it?)
I think taking sick leave is generally the answer but also getting better awareness about painful periods in the medical community so it isn’t dismissed and takes ages to treat. They can be managed or sometimes conditions need to be looked into.

Companies are required to make reasonable accommodations for disabilities (different than sick leave- things like equipment, seating, working patterns, etc. I had a male colleague who worked from home every few months for a week or so at a time because of his back issues. Another female colleague with fibromyalgia who occasionally had to work from home because she was ok to work in a chair at her computer but not up to commuting on public transport. Everyone grumbled (especially about the female colleague of course) but the accommodations were made because it’s the law. Uncontrolled vaginal bleeding requiring multiple changes of medical dressings every hour as a chronic condition is a disability and should be treated as such rather than as an acute illness.

After 100 years of striving for equal opportunities, asking for three or four working days off in every 20 is going to kill every woman's career stone dead.

I think menstrual leave would lead to more discrimination tbh. I'd like to see more flexibility from employers and hopefully, a positive outcome from Covid would be this flexibility. Sometimes, you just need to work from home rather than come into the office whether it's because of your period or you have diarrhea or whatever!

Yes. It's not our fault that we get periods and some women really suffer. I'm fortunate because some of mine are better than others. Sometimes though I can't leave the house for a day because of the heavy bleeding. The doctor does not seem to think this is a problem. The idea of a coil makes me feel physically sick.
This system would need to rely on people not taking the piss.

It would be a nice idea in principle but I don't know how it would work. Personally I get some horrifically painful ones that I've struggled to work through on the first day or two, but sometimes the worst of the cramps are at night or on the weekend and don't affect me at work. Some are not so bad, like the one I'm having just now. Very little pain and very little bleeding. So I can see why only 3 days might work for some people.