Intergenerational Considerations for Educators and Healthcare Providers Who Assist Girls and Women Transitioning Through Menarche and Menopause

Abstract

The present study, informed by multigenerational communication, was designed to produce practical implications for mothers, teachers, and healthcare providers who prepare adolescent girls for menarche and women for menopause. Our findings revealed four themes: (1) too little or too much media information; (2) preparation for menarche at and away from home; (3) mothers talk to daughters, fathers talk to sons; and (4) am I normal? An examination into how three generations of women talk about reproductive health within their immediate familial context(s) offers insight for mothers, teachers, and healthcare providers who educate and prepare women for transitions that shape self-confidence, perceptions of themselves in society, and their development of negative and/or positive beliefs about reproductive health.

Keywords:

• reproductive health
• sex education
• menopause
• menstruation
• multigenerational communication
• narrative analysis

Acknowledgments

Authors would like to acknowledge the work of Nicole Lea Gilmer as a research assistant.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Notes

1 The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls is part of the American Girl Doll Series.