QUESTION TO EXPERT

15 years old and not yet menstruating?

The first menstrual period: a girl becomes a woman.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/RossandHelen photographers)

Readers ask, experts answer on the most pressing health issues. Susanne K. (38): "My daughter is now 15 years old but hasn't had her first period yet. Should we be worried?"

Prof. Dr. Doris Maria Gruber, specialist in gynaecology and obstetrics in Vienna:

The first menstrual period occurs between the ages of 11 and 16 and depends on the individual's physical development. During this important stage of female development, when the child becomes a sexually mature young woman, there are a number of hurdles that need to be overcome. It is very important not to be underweight, but also not to be overweight.

Beware of eating disorders!
Many girls at this age develop special eating habits for various reasons, which should be well monitored to prevent deficiency symptoms. Sport is important, but not too much: the body reacts to too much/too little sport, underweight, but also overweight with delayed hormonal development.

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A good indicator of healthy development is breast growth and the development of the rest of the characteristic female body silhouette. If this is age-appropriate, the first menstrual period will also occur.

Do not take hormones
It is also possible to determine certain hormone parameters in the blood in order to recognize how far the hormones are already working. It is better to refrain from "triggering" the first period with hormones. Sometimes this development takes a little longer - the mother was often later.