My parents started making sanitary pads when no one would even say the word period.
In this deeply personal episode of The Gayu Lewis Podcast, I sit down with my mother and father to talk about menstrual health, menstrual hygiene, period care, sanitary pads, period education and women’s health — and how the conversation has changed across two generations.
My father came from a pharmaceutical background, but decades ago stepped into an area few people were openly discussing: menstrual health. At a time when periods were still spoken about in whispers and access to period products in schools and workplaces was far from normal, my parents began manufacturing sanitary napkins and sanitary napkin vending machines.
Their work wasn't only about making a product. It was about period access, menstrual hygiene education and removing the shame around menstruation — particularly for girls and women in schools and workplaces.
We talk about what the period taboo really looked like decades ago, why access to sanitary pads matters, the role of vending machines in schools and workplaces, menstrual hygiene basics every girl should know, and how mothers and fathers can have better conversations with their daughters about their first period.
And there’s another reason this conversation feels incredibly personal.
Decades later, their daughter ended up working in women’s health too — only at another stage of a woman's hormonal life: perimenopause and menopause.
From the first period to perimenopause, women's hormonal health is one continuum — and the conversations we start with young girls can shape how they understand their bodies for decades to come.
In this episode, we talk about:
• Menstrual health and menstrual hygiene
• Sanitary pads and period care
• Period poverty and access to menstrual products
• Sanitary napkin vending machines in schools and workplaces
• How often sanitary pads should be changed
• Period hygiene and disposal
• Talking to girls about their first period
• Why fathers should be part of the period conversation
• Breaking menstrual taboos across generations
• The connection between menstrual health, perimenopause and lifelong women’s health
This isn't just a conversation about periods. It's a conversation about access, dignity, education — and what happens when we stop treating women's health as something that should be whispered about.
If this episode resonates with you, send it to a mother, father, daughter, teacher or employer who needs to hear it.
And tell me: Did your parents talk to you about periods growing up?
Follow The Gayu Lewis Podcast — Menopause, Midlife & Women’s Health for honest conversations about hormones, perimenopause, menopause, nutrition, longevity and women's health.
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This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.
Connect with Gayu lewis:
- Instagram: gayulewisofficial
- LinkedIn: gayulewis
- Website: www.gayulewis.com
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