'I bled through my white dress on a hot summer day - I will no longer feel embarrassed'

It’s just a bit of blood – and yet, for many women, a leaking period is their worst nightmare. According to new research by the period care company Here We Flo, which surveyed over 2000 people, 80% of UK women say they’d feel ashamed if they leaked in public, while a further 82% say they’ve hidden a period product up their sleeve.

But why is something as normal as a menstrual bleed so stigmatized? Interestingly, the same research has found that 83% want people to speak more openly about periods, both online and off. To kickstart the discussion, Here We Flo launched a series of provocative billboards at Black Friars and Hackney Road,London, on June 30.

The campaign images show candid period moments, displaying visible tampon strings, bloodied underwear and period pads in full display. This also includes handing out free, non-toxic period products on July 2 between 12-1 pm and 5-6 pm outside the billboards at Black Friars and Hackney Road.

Now, off the back of their campaign, four women of different ages and backgrounds have opened up about their stories of embarrassing period moments.

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Ash Knight (28) from Buckinghamshire had one of her first experiences with period shame on a hot day in London several years ago. "I was wearing a white dress — something light and comfortable for the heat,” she says. "My period wasn’t due for another five days, so I didn’t think twice about it."

But when she was out walking far from home, she stood up from a bench and realised she had bled through her dress. She says she felt “so exposed” as she didn’t have anything to cover herself with. “I quickly tied my bag around my waist and tried to act normal, but inside I was panicking. I kept thinking everyone must have noticed. I felt embarrassed and anxious, like I needed to disappear.”

She was in the middle of a park, not near any shops or supplies. But, she says: “I was too embarrassed to ask a stranger for a pad or tampon.”

Now, looking back, she realises “it was all in my own head.” She continues: “That moment made me think about how periods are treated like something we should hide, even though half the population experience them.”

Kathryn Barber (28) says she’s racked up “14 years of awkward stories” around her period. She reveals: “Once a stranger pointed out that my tampon string was showing while I was in a bikini – that was so embarrassing.”

She also points out the difficulty of having to explain menstrual symptoms to men. “Another time, I leaked all over my friend's bed during our first sleepover and just last week, I had to explain to a male colleague that I looked exhausted because I stayed up all night with period pains.”

Emma Devries (40) from Hertfordshire was just 10 years old when she first started her period. She says: “I felt very embarrassed because I was young and couldn't go swimming at certain times of the month, and it really hindered my confidence, especially as the products were thick and made you feel like you were wearing a nappy.”

She adds: “I had to wear school trousers, which were quite tight, and then I would get picked on with shameful words like "she's on the blob," [or] "she's wearing a nappy". It really made me feel rubbish about having my period and made me feel insecure.”

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Sometimes, she would get leaks as she had a heavy period. She would have to clean herself up and hide any mess that happened, which “just added to this embarrassing feeling and shame.”

However, time has given her a chance to reflect. “Now that I am older, I am starting to realise we should feel empowered as women to speak up about these things and moments we have throughout our lives and shouldn't feel shame as these are normal, and we should be kind to ourselves and educate.”

Susan Allen-Augustin the co-founder of Here We Flo, shares her own embarrassing experience mid-flight from Boston to Florida. “I was asleep on the plane when my period started unexpectedly,” she says. “I woke up to realise I had leaked through my jeans and onto the airplane seat. On top of that, my cramps were so intense that as soon as we landed, I ended up being sick in one of the bins in the terminal. Definitely not my most shining moment!”

She adds: “I’m now able to look back and think it’s kind of funny now, but it definitely wasn’t at the time. That’s why I think what we’re building at Here We Flo is powerful.

"We’re using humour to open up conversations about these very real, very human experiences. Because the truth is, so many of us go through this, and yet it can feel very lonely and isolating at the time, and that’s what this campaign is all about.”

Her aim with the London billboards is to normalise what is an extremely normal experience. She says: “I hope when people see it [the billboards], they understand that message. I know that even when they are bloody loaded, sick, minging, leaking, whatever, they are so bloody brilliant.”