https://www.bodybasicswithbella.com/blog daily 0.75 2023-08-30 https://www.bodybasicswithbella.com/blog/2023-the-year-menstrual-products-are-tested-with-blood-for-the-first-time monthly 0.5 2023-08-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63be3c7668e713792a2f17fa/8767ea66-34f4-469c-8e37-6796d6966c66/51902eeeeca41ad01e50c3c59fcb22f2.jpg Blog - 2023: The Year Menstrual Products are Tested with Blood for the First Time - Stigma is no stranger to the history of menstrual products. It was common for there to be a lot of embarrassment when women asked for sanitary napkins in a store - particularly when there was a male store clerk. Talking about menstruation in publicly was largely taboo - and unfortunately, it sometimes still is today! In response to these uncomfortable interactions, Kotex rebranded to encourage women in advertisements to ask for “Kotex” rather than “sanitary napkins.” This small shift in language created more comfort when people needed to purchase more menstrual products at the store. Around the time of the release of the modern tampon, the in-store interactions changed. In order for women to purchase menstrual products, they had to secretly place money in a box in the store rather than buying them in front of the store clerk. It’s fascinating how much meaning and stigma culture places on completely normal biological processes. Imagine how difficult it must have been for a woman to see a doctor for menstrual abnormalities - would she even know something was wrong if they couldn’t talk about it in public? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63be3c7668e713792a2f17fa/6556b366-3c9f-4403-befd-7025657f35e3/Body+Basics+with+Bella+Flyer+%288.5+%C3%97+14+in%29.jpg Blog - 2023: The Year Menstrual Products are Tested with Blood for the First Time - Here are the key findings of the OHSU study that are important for you to know as you move forward in purchasing menstrual products: The majority of all tested products advertise that they absorb much more than this study discovered they actually do. The researchers believe this is due to using saline rather than real blood. Menstrual discs held the most blood while period underwear held the least. This is not to say one is better than the other - choose your products based on comfort and need! While period underwear is advertised to hold many tampons worth of blood, it really only absorbs a small amount of blood and does so very slowly. This isn’t the ideal method for those with a heavy flow or blood clots, and it is recommended by this study to use as a backup method. Tampons, pads, and menstrual cups hold similar amounts of blood, respectively. Absorbency is only one factor to consider when choosing your menstrual products. Comfort, functionality, body type, and other factors are just as important. Choose the products that feel right for you! https://www.bodybasicswithbella.com/blog/who-is-the-fifth-grader monthly 0.5 2023-06-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63be3c7668e713792a2f17fa/d168f8b3-c895-49ae-8a06-3ed0746bf41c/BBWB+Launch+%285%29.png Blog - Who is the fifth grader? - I want to preface this with a few things. All fifth graders are at a very different point in their development. However, even if your fifth grader hasn’t shown any beginning signs of puberty, I can promise you that they are noticing it in their peers, and that can totally have an impact on their behavior and emotions. Much of this article is going to be about female fifth graders, as male fifth graders won’t hit puberty for about another two years. I invite you to continue reading anyway, because odds are you will find at least one thing you resonate with. Besides, your youth may have questions about the body changes they are noticing in the peers in their class! The picture I am going to paint for you is one of a fifth grader who has, so far, had all of their basic needs met. They are safe, have a somewhat predictable structure at home, and have a sense of security in the trusted adults in their life. They have experienced a sense of belonging, self-awareness, and self-worth. The catch here is that there are MANY youth struggling to get their basic needs met. If any of this doesn’t sound like your youth, then it is likely there are other things going on that are worth noticing and require extra support, both for you and your youth (and asking for help is perfectly normal!). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63be3c7668e713792a2f17fa/79b746a8-059b-4399-8dbf-c9bc4add44fb/BBWB+Launch+%286%29.png Blog - Who is the fifth grader? - The key here is that it is incredibly important to not take their behaviors personally. The fifth grader’s behavior is not about you. Let’s look at a classic - the cold shoulder. It’s normal as trusted adults to have no clue what we did to deserve this. Where is it coming from? Rather than wondering what WE did wrong, let’s reframe. The cold shoulder is the psychological equivalent of putting training wheels on a bike. The fifth grader gets to practice leaving their childhood relationship with you behind for several years before they actually have to strike out on their own. This urge to keep you at a distance is an unconscious one - all they know is that your time together used to be pleasant, but now it is incredibly annoying. Has your youth ever acted out in a way they couldn’t explain? If so, come in close - I’m going to let you in on an important change happening below the surface that will give you the answers you’re looking for. https://www.bodybasicswithbella.com/upcoming-workshops daily 0.75 2026-05-19 https://www.bodybasicswithbella.com/upcoming-workshops/honor-health-wellness-fair-taxxt monthly 0.5 2026-05-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63be3c7668e713792a2f17fa/0d446c2d-f170-4ff7-91bc-0dc31e6c0300/Screenshot+%283%29.png Upcoming Workshops - Annual Petal Family Health & Resource Fair https://www.bodybasicswithbella.com/upcoming-workshops/honor-health-wellness-fair monthly 0.5 2026-05-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63be3c7668e713792a2f17fa/f1b81717-6804-4cea-afc4-5c87af750ade/696344349_122179448750840818_5146910340653328855_n.jpg Upcoming Workshops - Honor & Health Wellness Fair - Body Basics with Bella will be tabling at the Honor and Health Wellness Fair, hosted by Quality Senior Care LLC! We’ll be offering information about our programs, puberty education, and interactive learning activities for our community. Come visit us on Thursday, May 28th from 10AM-1PM at the HOL Family Life & Resources Adult Daycare Center! https://www.bodybasicswithbella.com/upcoming-workshops/event-one-rg2bh-mx2wm-3ea3j-hcdpp-ph86w monthly 0.5 2026-05-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63be3c7668e713792a2f17fa/9eac0ff3-d531-4213-a6d6-4ae86a463afb/671457322_122286144158194326_5637356389184171332_n.jpg Upcoming Workshops - Workshop Topic TBD - Conversations with Ms. Bella - The topic of this workshop will be announced closer to time, but don’t fret - Ms. Bella will be there with an engaging conversation, so keep it on your calendar! This workshop will be at the Oak Grove Public Library on Monday, July 20th from 6PM-7:30PM. https://www.bodybasicswithbella.com/upcoming-workshops/confident-conversations-in-action-practicing-conversations-about-sex-and-growing-up monthly 0.5 2026-04-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63be3c7668e713792a2f17fa/1776721831873-VAPEDDT1D4LPSRATOQ3G/unsplash-image-mG-HdjYiPtE.jpg Upcoming Workshops - Confident Conversations in Action: Practicing Conversations About Sex and Growing Up - Confident Conversations is back with this hands-on follow-up workshop designed to help parents turn knowledge into real-life communication skills. https://www.bodybasicswithbella.com/upcoming-workshops/event-one-rg2bh-mx2wm-3ea3j-hcdpp-36cea monthly 0.5 2026-03-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63be3c7668e713792a2f17fa/1772229449850-UO85GMOFL1AHUOAMZAFI/unsplash-image-nF8xhLMmg0c.jpg Upcoming Workshops - Menopause & Mayhem - “Menopause & Mayhem” is an interactive and free circle for women experiencing or preparing to experience peri/menopause. Attendees will be able to connect, share wisdom, tell stories, engage in menopause education, and gain skills to care for their changing bodies and selves. This circle will be at the Oak Grove Public Library at Wednesday, April 28th from 6PM-7:30PM. https://www.bodybasicswithbella.com/upcoming-workshops/event-one-rg2bh-mx2wm-3ea3j-hcdpp monthly 0.5 2026-05-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63be3c7668e713792a2f17fa/db9fddd4-743e-4501-bd13-7972e78be9fc/681263141_122288000696194326_7605133623676591712_n.jpg Upcoming Workshops - Back to Basics: Body Literacy for Adults - We’re going back to the basics! This is an interactive and free workshop for adults to gain the body literacy and sex education they never received growing up. Through an evidence-based and values-neutral approach, Ms. Bella will lead an interactive, community-centered workshop equipping adults with the information they need to lead positive, autonomous experiences in their bodies, relationships, and sexual lives. 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