Spain To Allow ‘Menstrual Leave’ For People With Bad Period Cramps

Periods are part of life if you’re a person who menstruates. They’re a monthly occurrence that usually last three to five days, depending on your cycle.

But periods come with a whole host of different symptoms. Besides the PMS symptoms like different food cravings, mood swings, changes in body temperature, etc., there are other more severe physical symptoms…like cramps.

Cramps are the worst, as are the possible headaches and diarrhea that can also be associated with a debilitating period cycle.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

These kinds of awful periods that are so severely painful are medically known as dysmenorrhea. Anyone who has experienced this level of pain during a period knows just how much of an interference they can be with your everyday life.

You can’t really do much, other than curl up in bed and wait till it’s over. Getting up and getting dressed then commuting to the office is the last thing that you want to do when experiencing an episode of dysmenorrhea.

For anyone who experiences dysmenorrhea, pain killers aren’t always as effective as you’d want them to be. Either they don’t do anything, or they dull the pain, but not enough to make the cramps fully go away.

Photo: Stock Snap/ Imani Clovis

It’s just this constant, uncomfortable pressure in your abdomen. Given how awful periods can sometimes be, it makes sense that you might want to call out sick from work when the pain gets bad.

Of course, calling in sick to work because of periods doesn’t always get the same sympathy as calling in sick with the flu. But luckily, attitudes toward menstruation are starting to change. In fact, there are already several countries, including Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea, that now allows women to take menstrual leave when they are experiencing severe period cramps.

Soon, one of the western countries is going to join that list!

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Spain is going to become the first country in the western world to offer menstrual leave. This means that they will be allowing women who get bad cramps to take up to three days off work every month. Besides allowing for menstrual leave, the new rule will also provide free access to feminine hygiene products.

It’s expected that the Spanish government will be approving the new measure. According to VT, the Secretary of State for Equality and against Gender Violence, Ángela Rodríguez, said in a statement, “One in four women cannot choose the feminine hygiene products she wants to buy for financial reasons. That is why we propose that they can be dispensed free of charge in educational and social centers.”