Reusable menstrual cup is a woman's best friend

Sanitary pads and tampons are what women turn to during their monthly menstrual cycle. However, a relatively new concept is slowly finding takers.

A brand of reusable menstrual cup, the Aneer is now available at Rejuvenate Beauty and Slimming Spa outlets and the manager, Onkemetse Kabelo says it is a total game-changer for girls and women and she is hoping it will revolutionise the way they experience menstruation. Kabelo, who imports the cups from China, says she wanted to start a conversation about the current trends surrounding menstruation and promote some alternatives.“The menstrual cup retains the blood inside your body, so the fluid does not stink. You hardly ever stain your underwear”, she said, adding, “This is perfect for schoolgirls especially.

They should no longer be afraid of leaking and being mocked by their classmates. They can sit comfortably in class and participate in school activities,” she said. The cup is a soft, silicon and flexible funnel-shaped structure with a wide enough mouth. When inserted correctly, the cup sits about a centimeter inside the vagina and creates a vacuum seal to prevent leakage.

The cups provide 12 hours of comfortable, leak-free protection, and can be reused for up to 10 years, making it an economically wise and sustainable solution. “With the very low employment rate in our country sanitary pads have become a luxury product for many girls and women,” says Kabelo. She adds, “It is definitely going to revolutionise the way women experience their monthly cycles”. The stigma towards it is still a bit taboo, according to Kabelo. “It’s been a bit of a challenge not just to sell the actual cup, but the idea of the cup,” she says.

The cup collects blood for 12 hours before it is removed, dumped and rinsed for reuse. “You have to touch yourself and see your blood. It requires a level of body-comfort many women just don’t have,” explains Kabelo. Even so, she says interest is slowly trickling in mostly from students and males who want to buy for their partners. She intends to tour schools and offices to educate women on the cup and its benefits.This reporter decided to take one and experience it for herself.

When I first opened the package, the cup didn't look like something I'd like to insert into myself.  It comes in two sizes: one for women who have given birth before, and the other for women who haven’t or are under 25 years of age. To start with, I couldn't fold the cup well, the C-fold suggested in the manual was not easy to achieve. The cup would pop open before it was fully inserted. In all the panic, my muscles refused to relax and loosen.

Then I remembered I have given birth multiple times. Surely if I can push a baby out, I can handle a squishy piece of latex that's two centimeters in diameter. But really, whether or not you have had a baby, it is quite easy provided you keep calm. You fold the latex cup in half, then in half again. At that point it’s only slightly bigger than a tampon and a whole lot more complaint. It should sit low in the vagina, with the tip of it sitting just outside your body. This took some time getting used to as a tampon is inserted higher up in the vagina toward the cervix.

When it is full, you pull and tip it over, wash and sterilise it in boiling water before you can use it again.While many might be put off from witnessing their period up close and personal like this, I found it connected me closer to my body. I felt as if I was more fully experiencing an aspect of my womanhood that I had in the past treated as a nuisance. There is definitely no doubt in my mind that using the menstrual cup involves as much a mental shift as a physical one. My guess is, once one gets used to the convenience and simplicity it offers, many women are most likely to make it a habit.

Gynecologist and Obstetrician at Bridge Women’s Clinic, Dr Bridget Galebole called the cup an absolutely fascinating innovation. “It forces you to understand what’s happening in your body. That could have a profound effect.” For Dr. Galebole who sees a lot of women for menstrual issues such as irregular, painful and heavy periods, tackling the taboo that still surrounds periods is important. She says the fact that the cup has measurements would empower women to know how their periods are enabling doctors to make subjective and objective assessment during consultations.