Home Featured Mums “What I Wish I Knew as a Teenage Girl” -Esther Mbugua-Kimemia

“What I Wish I Knew as a Teenage Girl” -Esther Mbugua-Kimemia

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Today is Menstrual Hygiene Day and it’s quite timely because I’m currently reading the book ‘Bloom’ by fellow mom Esther Mbugua-Kimemia, a mother of two girls. Esther is a menstrual health educator and endometriosis warrior.

Soon, I’ll be sharing with you my thoughts about the book once I’ve gone through all of it. For now, what I can share is that basically, Bloom talks about menstruation, and it draws from Esther’s personal journey with her menses. Here is just a little about Esther and her book, in her words:

“After a long journey with endometriosis and the other symptoms that it comes with, I decided to share the knowledge I wish I knew as a teenage girl.

In 2016, I launched Yellow Endo Flower to help demystify period-shaming, to teach girls about periods and menstrual health, and to create awareness about endometriosis. Last year, I decided to publish a book on menstrual health- ‘Bloom’.

Esther Kimemia, menstrual health educator.

Bloom is a period book where I teach about how a period should look and feel, explore sanitary product options, and encourage girls and women to employ healthy practices about menstruation. It also teaches them about the importance of keeping a period diary.

I have come to find out that many women who menstruate do not know how a normal period should look or feel like. One of the life skills that has literally been a lifesaver for me is keeping a period diary. It has revolutionized my life and helped me be more self-aware, and notice patterns in my body and cycle.

Yellow Endo Flower engages with girls and women both online (through various social media platforms) and offline through group sessions where I conduct menstrual health training in schools and in other organized groups such as churches, moms who organize forums for their pre-teen and teen daughters, and other private meetings.”

So that’s a little about Esther and Bloom. As I continue to read her book, so far, I’d say that if you have a daughter who is just about to begin her menses, ‘Bloom’ is a book worth buying. Or even if you do not have a daughter, you most likely have a little sister, niece, cousin or family friend who is just about to begin her periods -or has just started. ‘Bloom’ would be a good gift for them.

By the way, my friend’s daughter began her menses at 9 years earlier this month. Nine years! But I have since been informed that nowadays, a significant number of 10-year-olds have already received their first period. In my days, we began at around 14 – 16 years, no?

If you’d like to get in touch with Esther, you can do so through the email: yellowendoflower@gmail.com

If you’d like to get a copy of her book, you can call Rosemary on 0731 224 223 or the author, Esther on 0746 622 833. The book costs Sh500. Courier charges apply accordingly.

Also See: “My Journey with Extremely Painful Periods -TV Presenter Ciru Muriuki”

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Mummy Tales is a blog dedicated to empowering its readers on different aspects of maternal and newborn health, as well as various issues surrounding motherhood and women. Read more motherhood experiences of Kenyan moms hereFollow Mummy Tales on: FACEBOOK l INSTAGRAM l TWITTER 

Esther’s photos by artsy belabela

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Maryanne W. Waweru is a Kenyan mum raising her two sons in Nairobi. A journalist, Maryanne is passionate about telling stories and hopes that through her writing, her readers learn something new, feel encouraged, inspired, and appreciative of what they have in their lives. Maryanne's writing focuses on motherhood, women and lifestyle. "Telling stories is the only thing I know how to do," she says.

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