Periods in a Pandemic: How the Covid-19 Pandemic Influenced UK Experiences of Providing and Accessing Menstrual Health Support
Williams, Gemma C. (2026) Periods in a Pandemic: How the Covid-19 Pandemic Influenced UK Experiences of Providing and Accessing Menstrual Health Support. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.
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Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated existing gendered health inequalities, including menstrual inequality. With the onset of the pandemic, UK non-profit menstrual health support organisations experienced an increase in demand.
Using critical and feminist theories, this study seeks to understand the influence that the pandemic had on menstrual health experiences within the UK by examining the experiences of those providing and accessing menstrual health support. A mixed methods design was applied encompassing 2 phases. Phase 1 explored the perspectives of those providing menstrual health support, utilising interviews with 17 organisations and survey responses from a further 17. Phase 2 focused on the experiences of those needing menstrual health support, employing surveys (n-240) and semi-structured interviews (n-4).
Using reflexive thematic analysis, phase 1 analysis demonstrates how menstrual health support services overcame pandemic-related barriers to continue service provision during lockdown, related to products, education and healthcare. Barriers included disease-prevention measures which exacerbated existing inequalities around gender, poverty and health, and menstrual stigma. Inconsistencies in government policy and an increase in pandemic-related financial insecurity further compounded the challenges that service providers experienced.
Phase 2 combines reflexive thematic analysis and descriptive statistics to provide insight to menstrual cycle experiences during the pandemic, with participants seeking to understand their menstrual cycle changes and how best to manage menstruation. Disease-prevention measures affecting the accessibility of products and healthcare, combined with menstrual stigma and changes to the menstrual cycle during lockdown, influenced menstrual management and help-seeking decisions during lockdown.
This study addresses gaps in pandemic-related menstrual health research which has focused on menstrual hygiene management and menstrual cycle changes attributed to Covid-19 from the perspective of those who menstruate. This study is the first to combine the experiences of those who menstruate with those who provide menstrual health services to examine the wider social, political and psychological factors that influenced menstrual health experiences during the pandemic. The analysis illustrates how existing pre-pandemic inequalities, including poverty, gender and menstrual stigma, intersect with pandemic-related factors further increasing menstrual inequality within the UK. To achieve menstrual equity, the UK must ensure that menstrual health support is included within future disaster responses in addition to wider financial, health and education-related policies.
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