A day without a pad

I packed a pad that looked different from the ones I usually use. It was thinner and lighter, almost too light to trust. Still, I slipped it into my luggage before traveling, hoping it would serve me during my next period.

Then, in the middle of my trip, my period arrived unexpectedly.

I used the pad. Within two hours, it was full. I had to change it. Then again. And again. By the end of the day, I had changed pads so many times that I felt frustrated, uncomfortable, and constantly worried about leaking. I couldn’t find the type I normally use until the next day.

That long, uncomfortable day gave me a glimpse into a past I had never truly imagined.

What was it like before modern menstrual pads existed?

Before adhesive wings. Before reliable protection. Before the quiet confidence that allows women to move freely through their day without fear or embarrassment.

In the 1950s, menstrual pads were bulky and worn with belts. Long before that, women relied on folded cloth, rags, or whatever absorbent materials they could find. Many washed and reused cloth pieces in silence and secrecy. Privacy was limited. Sanitation was uncertain. Comfort was rare.

As I struggled through that day, I found myself thinking about women across generations.

I thought about young girls trying to focus in school while managing their periods without reliable products.

I thought about women working in markets, farms, and offices, carrying on with their responsibilities while quietly managing discomfort.

And I thought about women who had just given birth, navigating heavy postpartum bleeding without the products many of us rely on today.

My difficult travel day lasted only twenty-four hours. Yet it gave me a small glimpse into what millions of women before us endured every single month.

That reflection led me to the story of Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner.

In 1957, Kenner patented an adjustable sanitary belt designed to hold menstrual pads securely in place. Her invention offered women greater comfort and reliability at a time when adhesive pads were not yet common. Despite the brilliance of her idea, Kenner—an African American woman inventor—faced racial discrimination that prevented companies from fully supporting and marketing her innovation.

Yet her work still mattered.

It mattered because every step forward in menstrual health changes the lives of women and girls.

Today, innovation continues to expand those possibilities. Women now have access to a variety of menstrual health solutions, including improved disposable pads, reusable cloth pads, tampons, and menstrual cups. These options offer greater comfort, dignity, sustainability, and freedom—allowing women to choose what works best for their bodies and their lives.

Menstrual health innovations are more than products. They are tools of empowerment. They make it possible for girls to stay in school, for women to work with confidence, and for us to travel, participate, and live fully—even during our periods.

The simple pad in my suitcase reminded me that the comfort many of us experience today did not happen by accident. It exists because someone, somewhere, imagined a better way.

So today, I celebrate Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner.

I celebrate the inventors, researchers, advocates, and everyday women who continue to push for better menstrual health solutions around the world.

And I celebrate every woman who has quietly navigated her cycle with resilience.

Because behind every modern menstrual product is a long history of courage, creativity, and women improving the world—one solution at a time.