I ask all of my menstruating patients, “how many pads/tampons do you use on your heaviest day?”, but I noticed a pattern where my Black and Latinx female patients were commonly reporting only using pads. I wondered how common this was. It turns out, research supports this pattern

“European American women (71%) were significantly more likely to use tampons in adolescence compared to a considerably smaller proportion of African American (29%), English-speaking Latina (22%), and Spanish-speaking Latina women (5%).”

And why? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22980411/ 

Both Black and Latina women reported discouragement from tampon use by their mothers due to concerns for safety or thinking they were inappropriate prior to sexual activity. Latina women also reported not knowing how to use them.

This reflects my own childhood experience where my mother, a nurse, didn’t let me use tampons because she was worried about toxic shock syndrome. Because of not being able to use tampons, I gave playing soccer for my recreational team and sat by the pool during friends’ parties.

I support patients making the right choices for their bodies, including menstrual products. I also seek to make sure those choices aren’t limited by misinformation or lack of knowledge. Hopefully this little thread also helps you think more when you hear “just pads” and educate!