Myth or Fact: What Your Aunties Told You About Periods
Cold drinks, cooking, the first-period egg and whether a baby will fix your cramps: 12 things women have been told about periods, checked against the evidence, with love for the aunties who told us.
TL;DR: Some of what we were told about periods holds up. Heat for cramps does help, and once periods begin a girl can get pregnant. Much of the rest has no medical basis: menstrual blood is not dangerous, food is not spoiled by your touch, and exercise and pain relief are fine. If pain stops your day, see a doctor instead of waiting for a baby to fix it.
Every family has one. The auntie who pressed a hot water bottle into your hands and told you, in a very low voice, exactly what you could no longer do. Do not drink that. Do not touch this. Do not tell your brothers. She may not have had a biology degree, but she had love, a lifetime of being told the same things, and very little information to work with. She was trying to protect you the only way she knew.
Researchers have written down many of these beliefs, from Ghana's Volta Region to Kisumu, and similar ones turn up far from home too. So we took 12 of them, thanked the aunties for their service, and looked up what the evidence says. If you want the basics first, our complete guide to periods covers them, and our answers to the menstrual questions African women ask most deal with bathing, smell and syncing, so we will leave those out here.
What you cannot eat, drink or touch
Cold drinks will make your period worseTap to reveal
This one travels: in a survey of 500 students in Riyadh, 89.6% believed it. A review pooling two Chinese studies linked cold drinks to period pain, but its authors urged caution, and a US survey found the opposite pattern. Nobody has shown that a cold drink causes cramps, so have whatever feels good.
You must not cook when you are on your periodTap to reveal
Rules like this are recorded in Ghana, from girls being told not to prepare the yam dish Wasawasa to women not cooking for men or chiefs. UNFPA is clear that menstrual blood is regular blood and tissue, with no special or dangerous properties. Your stew is safe, and if you want to use this one to get out of cooking, we will not tell.
Certain foods will harm your periodTap to reveal
In one Ghanaian school survey, sugary foods topped the list of things to avoid, and the same paper notes that girls in western Uganda were told not to drink milk. UNFPA says there are no medically recommended restrictions on what menstruating people can eat. If anything, it is a good week for iron-rich food.
What you cannot do
You should not exercise on your periodTap to reveal
In the Riyadh survey, about a third of students thought exercise harms your period. The NHS suggests the opposite for cramps, recommending gentle exercise like yoga, swimming, walking or cycling. Rest on the days you need to, and move on the days you want to.
You must not swim in or cross the river on your periodTap to reveal
Parents and teachers in Ghana's Volta Region described this rule, while one student in the same study said she swam during an unexpected period and "nothing happened to me." Whatever a river means to your community is yours to honour, but on the health side, UNFPA says exercise, swimming, bathing, work and sex are all possible during menstruation.
Period pain should not be treated with painkillersTap to reveal
In the Riyadh survey, 66.6% of students thought painkillers during a period were harmful, and students in a study from Ethiopia worried about addiction and infertility. The NHS recommends painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen for period pain. Follow the packet, and if your pain is severe and painkillers do not help, get seen.
What people say about sex, virginity and fertility
Sex on your period will make a man sickTap to reveal
Men in a study in Kisumu feared catching pelvic inflammatory disease from dirty menstrual blood, a misconception, the researchers note, since it is a condition that affects women. UNFPA says sex during a period is possible, though sperm can survive for up to 7 days, so keep using contraception. And condoms still matter if there is any chance of an STI.
A tampon or menstrual cup will take your virginityTap to reveal
Fear that cups could damage the hymen and affect virginity has been recorded in Zimbabwe and Uganda. ACOG says the presence or absence of a hymen does not indicate virginity, and that tampons, sport and medical procedures can all stretch or tear it. Pads sit in your underwear, so they were never part of the argument.
Once your period starts, you can get pregnantTap to reveal
The auntie who sat you down and told you to keep away from boys had a point. A review of research in East Africa found periods were tied to sexual readiness, and the NHS confirms starting periods is a sign the body is able to have a baby. Able is different from ready, though: a girl who has started her period is still a child.
If you chew the egg at your first period, you chew your babiesTap to reveal
In the Volta Region, girls are given two boiled eggs at their first period, one to chew and one to swallow, and a girl who chews the wrong one is said to have harmed her fertility. It is a beautiful way to mark the day, and it can stay. The causes of infertility the WHO lists include blocked tubes, womb conditions and hormone disorders, and none of them is eggs.
What the aunties said about pain
A hot water bottle on your belly helps crampsTap to reveal
Students in Ghana's Western Region use hot water therapy for this, and the aunties were right. The NHS recommends a heat pad or hot water bottle wrapped in a tea towel, and a review of 57 trials found heat likely eases pain, though the evidence is mostly low certainty. The blood is not melting, as some say, but the relief is welcome all the same.
Your period pain will stop once you have a babyTap to reveal
Students in a study from Ethiopia told researchers "it will be fine after giving birth," and it holds some truth: ACOG says common period pain may improve after giving birth. But that is a maybe, and pain can also come from conditions like endometriosis or fibroids, which need a doctor. Please do not plan a pregnancy as your treatment.
Why are there so many myths about periods?
Mostly because periods have been kept quiet. UNFPA notes that restrictions around menstruation exist in many, if not most, countries, and when something cannot be discussed openly, people fill the gaps with what they heard from their own mothers. These stories often carried care, a wish to keep a girl safe, to give a tired woman a rest from cooking, or to mark a big moment. Some of them also carried shame, and we can keep the care while gently putting the shame down.
How do I talk to my auntie about this?
Start from what she got right. Thank her for the hot water bottle first, then share one thing you have learned, and ask what she was told when she was young. You may hear a story nobody has ever asked her for. And if a belief is keeping someone from eating well, going to school or seeing a doctor, that is the one worth raising, kindly and more than once.
If your own period pain, flow or moods are worrying you, writing them down helps. Cycle tracking and symptom logging in Asele can give you a clear record to take to a clinician, which beats trying to remember what happened in March.
This post is education, not medical advice. If something about your cycle worries you, speak to a doctor, nurse or pharmacist who can examine you.
References
- Alharbi KK, et al. Knowledge, readiness, and myths about menstruation among students at the Princess Noura University. J Family Med Prim Care, 2018. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Liu J, et al. Study on the influencing factors of primary dysmenorrhea in female college students: systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore), 2024. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Wu T, et al. Cold exposures in relation to dysmenorrhea among Asian and White women. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2023. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Mohammed S, Larsen-Reindorf RE. Menstrual knowledge, sociocultural restrictions, and barriers to menstrual hygiene management in Ghana. PLoS One, 2020. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Gbogbo S, et al. The socio-cultural construction of menstruation in the Ghanaian context. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2025. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- UNFPA. Menstruation and human rights: frequently asked questions. unfpa.org
- NHS. Period pain. nhs.uk
- Getahun SB, et al. Reasons for not seeking healthcare among students with dysmenorrhea: a qualitative study. Int J Womens Health, 2023. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Osire E, et al. A qualitative exploration of female sex worker's male client views of menstruation, sex during menses and the menstrual disc. PLoS One, 2024. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- NHS. Can I get pregnant just after my period has finished? nhs.uk
- NHS. Sexually transmitted infections. nhs.uk
- Mugenyi L, et al. Factors associated with declining a menstrual cup among female students and their parents in Ugandan secondary schools. BMJ Open, 2024. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Vulvovaginal health FAQ. acog.org
- KIT Royal Tropical Institute. Menstrual health, the missing piece in SRHR: reflections from a review on menstrual health in East Africa. kit.nl
- NHS. Starting your periods. nhs.uk
- World Health Organization. Infertility fact sheet. who.int
- Samba Conney C, et al. Complementary and alternative medicine use for primary dysmenorrhea among senior high school students in the Western Region of Ghana. Obstet Gynecol Int, 2019. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Yuan D, et al. Heat therapy for primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Med (Lausanne), 2025. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Dysmenorrhea: painful periods FAQ. acog.org
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