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The importance of young people receiving positive menstrual education is well documented. Olsson et al. (2024), for example, report that it can improve confidence in navigating menstruation and reduce the stigma that continues to surround the topic. This is incredibly pertinent, as some menstruating students miss an average of nine days of schools per year due to menstruation (Stephenson, 2025), highlighting the importance of providing education and removing stigma. Current menstruation education is, however, inadequate. In recent research highlighted by the Higher Education Policy Institute, it was found that only one-third of the 1,500 students surveyed described their experience of menstrual education in school as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ (Stephenson, 2025). This has resulted in generations of young people exhibiting poor menstrual literacy, which, unsurprisingly, accounts for the ‘pervasive stigma surrounding menstrual health’ (Olsson et al., 2024, p. 354).

‘Some menstruating students miss an average of nine days of schools per year due to menstruation.’

I can testify to the impact of poor menstruation education, having assumed that excruciating periods were natural until a diagnosis of endometriosis at the age of 22. Through its Teen Menstrual Literacy Survey, Endometriosis UK has highlighted that 59 per cent of teenagers cannot recognise abnormal menstrual symptoms, illustrating the commonality of this issue (Endometriosis UK, 2024). Years of suffering in silence could have been avoided had I been educated as to what an ‘abnormal’ period looks like, as well as taken seriously by healthcare professionals, a sentiment that is common among people who menstruate. Numerous reasons for poor menstrual education have been reported, including lack of time within the curriculum and insufficient resources (Olsson et al., 2024), and it is unclear how schools in England will accommodate the Relationship and Sex Education reforms being introduced from September 2026 (DfE, 2025). While these reforms – which provide significantly greater guidance regarding menstrual education – are welcome, how can teachers be expected to implement the increased demands while they are already managing stressful workloads (Spicksley, 2022)?

Social media is now an increasingly valuable platform for ‘disseminating and acquiring health-related information’ (Riemma et al., 2025, p. 275), suggesting that investment in the development of online menstrual education resources, directed towards all young people, would be timely and cost-effective, while simultaneously reducing demands on teachers. Similarly, Brown et al. (2024) argue that limited school resources necessitate the development of ‘evidence-based and high quality’ (p. 12) digital tools to supplement classroom learning and improve menstrual education. For example, existing social media pages, such as those run by the NHS, could be utilised to create this content, with education providers then promoting it to students. This would ensure that accurate and regulated content is being shared with students in place of the current low-quality content that is generally circulated (Riemma et al., 2025). Young people commonly lack the confidence to ask questions about menstruation in the presence of teachers and peers (Taylor & Greig, 2024), so remotely accessed social media-based resources could mitigate such reticence in classroom settings, helping to increase menstrual literacy.

It is clear that greater attention needs to be placed on menstrual education, and the use of social media-based resources could work to enhance current provision, both by reducing the strain on teachers, and by allowing students to access information in a manner which is accessible to them.

References

Brown, N., Forrest, L. J., Williams, R., Piasecki, J., & Bruinvels, G. (2024). ‘Everyone needs to be educated’: Pupils’ voices on menstrual education. Reproductive Health, 21(1), Article 121.

Department for Education [DfE]. (2025). Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education: Statutory guidance for governing bodies, proprietors, head teachers, principals, senior leadership teams, and teachers.

Endometriosis UK. (2024, March 21). Menstrual knowledge gap tackled in new support for UK teens.   

Olsson, S. E., Friedlich, N., Bolds, A., Hodge, A., Jamali, T., & Lagomichos, M. (2024). Exploring menstrual education via TikTok: A descriptive content analysis. Journal of Adolescent Health, 75(2), 353–357. .

Riemma, G., Carotenuto, R. M., Casolari, C., Ronsini, C., Corte, L. D., La Verde, M., Unfer, V., De Franciscis, P., Lagana, A. S., & Etrusco, A. (2025). Assessing quality, reliability and accuracy of polycystic ovary syndrome-related content on TikTok: A video-based cross-sectional analysis. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 170(1), 274–283.

Spicksley, K. (2022). Hard work / workload: Discursive constructions of teacher work in policy and practice. Teachers and Teaching, 28(5), 517–532.  

Stephenson, R. (2025). The hidden impact of menstruation in higher education. Higher Education Policy Institute.

Taylor, P., & Greig, A. (2024). Investigating young women’s retrospective perceptions and experiences of menstrual health education in school settings, England. Women’s Reproductive Health, 11(3), 697–716.