Abstract
Study Objective
No studies have specifically considered paternal understanding of menstruation. This
study aimed to establish the degree of understanding of fathers of adolescent girls
with menstrual symptoms relative to mothers.
Design and Setting
This was a cross-sectional survey-based study. Adolescent patients attending an outpatient
gynecology clinic for dysmenorrhea and/or heavy menstrual bleeding and their parents
were invited to complete surveys.
Participants
Sixty surveys were completed (24 of 40 daughters, 20 of 40 mothers, 16 of 40 fathers).
Interventions and Main Outcome Measures
Surveys aimed to test parents' understanding of menstrual symptoms and potential medications,
as well as fathers' concerns with their daughters’ health.
Results
The fathers' knowledge of menstrual symptoms was poorer than mothers, although most
knew heavy menstrual bleeding (15/16, 94%) and mood swings (14/16, 87%). Many parents
answered “don't know” or did not answer questions about potential consequences of
medications, although parents were clearly concerned about side effects. Most fathers
(13/16, 81%) were open to discussing menstrual concerns with daughters; however, only
54% (13/24) of daughters were open to such discussions. Of fathers, 81% (13/16) were
sympathetic/concerned, 56% (9/16) felt helpless, and 13% (2/16) were frustrated when
daughters were in pain. When asked about effects, 88% (14/16) of fathers (79% [15/20]
of mothers) were worried about their daughter's welfare and 63% (10/16) (55% [11/20]
of mothers) about schooling.
Conclusion
We present, to our knowledge, the first insight into fathers' knowledge of their daughters'
menstrual health. Overall, parents have an incomplete picture of menstrual symptoms.
Even in this cohort, which could be expected to be well informed because of their
daughters’ attendance at a tertiary hospital, it is clear that further knowledge would
assist them caring for their daughters.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 12, 2018
Footnotes
J.E.G. has current research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Fund and has had previous funding from Bayer Health Care. Y.L.J. has a National Health and Medical Research Council Translational Fellowship. The remaining authors indicate no conflicts of interest.
Presented at the Australian and New Zealand Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology Society Annual Meeting, 2016; the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics Annual Meeting, 2016; the Society for Reproductive Biology and Endocrine Society of Australia Annual Conference, 2016; and the Society for Reproductive Investigation Annual Conference, 2016.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc.
