NNLM Discovery | Period Poverty

Why do we expect to find toilet paper and paper towels in a public restroom, but feminine hygiene products are considered optional? Period Poverty is the struggle many low-income women and girls face while trying to afford menstrual products, which contributes to increased economic vulnerability due to absenteeism and health concerns. With a lack of access to menstrual health supplies, 1 in 4 young women miss class and/or work monthly. Menstrual products are not covered by food stamps or WIC (The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children).

After watching this video, listen to this week's episode of the NNLM Discovery podcast, Region 6 Communications & Finance Coordinator Miles Dietz-Castel shares the story of Richland County Public Health Director Dr. Julie Chaya’s initiative to combat period poverty in her community of Mansfield, Ohio.

Listen to season 1 of the NNLM Discovery podcast here - https://www.nnlm.gov/podcast

The NNLM is the outreach arm of the National Library of Medicine with the mission to advance the progress of medicine and improve the public health by providing all U.S. health professionals with equal access to biomedical information and improving the public's access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health. The seven Health Sciences Libraries function as the Regional Medical Library (RML) for their respective region, with Region 6 consisting of: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. To learn more about Region 6 visit: http://www.nnlm.gov/about/regions/reg....

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