{"id":122519,"date":"2023-09-13T21:03:48","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T01:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=122519"},"modified":"2023-09-13T21:04:47","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T01:04:47","slug":"period-poverty-is-a-health-issue-that-impacts-us-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=122519","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Period Poverty\u2019 is a Health Issue That Impacts Us All"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Capital Blue Cross \u2013 \u00a0THINK<\/a>\u00a0(Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on the latest health and insurance issues.<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

A lack of access to menstrual products like tampons and pads is not just an inconvenience. In some cases, it can pose serious health risks and undermine quality of life. In Central Pennsylvania, there\u2019s an effort underway to address \u201cperiod poverty.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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For millions of Americans, menstrual products like tampons or pads are financially out of reach, leading them to miss work or school, endure shame and anxiety, and put their health at risk.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s called \u201cperiod poverty\u201d \u2013 and it can have dire consequences.<\/p>\n

A lack of access to hygienic menstruation products can lead some menstruators to use the same tampon or pad for too long or even resort to makeshift methods to control their periods, like tissue or toilet paper. Poor menstrual hygiene can lead to vaginal or urinary tract infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, reproductive health problems, and life-threatening toxic shock syndrome, according to the National Institutes for Health.<\/p>\n

The ripple effects of period poverty can have societal impacts too, leading to missed days of school or work, which can undermine opportunities and feed the cycle of poverty. It also can contribute to mental health issues like anxiety or depression.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Menstruation really should be seen as a superpower for women … but it\u2019s one of those things that historically has been kind of shrouded in\u00a0embarrassment.”<\/div>\n
\u2014 Megan Swope, founder of the Period Project Harrisburg<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Removing the “Element of Shame”<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many layers to this issue,\u201d explains Registered Nurse Megan Swope. \u201cMenstruation really should be seen as a superpower for women \u2013 it\u2019s what enables us to bring life into this world \u2013 but it\u2019s one of those things that historically has been kind of shrouded in embarrassment. \u2026 You were told it\u2019s something you don\u2019t talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n

That taboo mindset, however, is fueling a public health crisis that can be solved if menstrual products are simply made more accessible and affordable, and if we remove what Swope calls a persistent \u201celement of shame.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is working to do both through the\u00a0Period Project Harrisburg<\/a>, a nonprofit Swope started in 2022 to distribute period products to those who cannot readily access or afford them.<\/p>\n

Volunteers assemble \u201cperiod packs\u201d \u2013 each containing a month’s supply of pads, tampons, and pantyliners along with educational materials \u2013\u00a0that are distributed to schools, shelters, food pantries, and health clinics. The Period Project Harrisburg has so far collected and distributed menstrual supplies to help about 2,500 people this year across Central Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

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Volunteers assemble “period packs” at the Capital Blue Cross Connect health and wellness center in Enola, Cumberland County. (Photos courtesy of Anne Marie Brandt, Team Brandt Marketing)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How Capital Blue Cross is Helping<\/b><\/p>\n

In August, about two dozen volunteers gathered at the Capital Blue Cross Connect health and wellness center in Enola to assemble 1,000 period packs that were distributed to organizations including a health clinic, school nurses, shelters, and food pantries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were thrilled to be able to help the Period Project do this great work for the community,\u201d said Stacey Clark, who manages the Capital Blue Cross Connect center. \u201cCapital Blue Cross has a deep commitment to community health and wellness issues, and our employees were eager to volunteer their time to help assemble these packages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swope plans to distribute about 15,000 period packs this year and expand the Period Project Harrisburg\u2019s reach in the years ahead. Ultimately, however, she defines success as no longer having to operate the nonprofit at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to put an end to period poverty in our community so there\u2019s no longer a need for us to do what we do,\u201d Swope said. \u201cI\u2019m hoping we become irrelevant. Until then, we will be here for Harrisburg.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

You can find more useful articles at https:\/\/thinkcapitalbluecross.com\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nJERRY REIMENSCHNEIDER
\nSenior Public Relations Specialist | Brand & Market Strategy
\nhttps:\/\/www.capbluecross.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Capital Blue Cross \u2013 \u00a0THINK\u00a0(Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on the … Continue reading \u2018Period Poverty\u2019 is a Health Issue That Impacts Us All<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122521,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482,5742],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2","category-think"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Period-Poverty.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/122521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}