Our up-to-date study shows menstrual cups are sheltered and hard-wearing, but can be problematic for first-time users

Many teenage women and other people who menstruate turn to menstrual cups to control their periods.

In 2021, me and my colleagues surveyed people aged 15 to 29 in Victoria and found that 17% had used a menstrual cup during their last period. A study from Spain published in 2022 showed 47% of people aged 18 to 25 has used a menstrual cup in the last year.

Menstrual cups are miniature, pliant cups inserted into the vagina to collect menstrual blood. Most of them are made of medical-grade silicone. They can be emptied, rinsed and reused and sterilized using boiling water or a microwave sterilizer.

2019 research review menstrual cups have been found to be sheltered and effective. They also reduce environmental waste and are cheaper over time compared to single-use products such as pads and tampons.

However, ours recent research found that teenage people often face difficulties and discomfort that may discourage them from continuing to exploit menstrual cups. This highlights the need for better education and support.

We wanted to know what teenage people think about menstrual cups

My colleagues and I conducted a survey 530 young people living in Australia aged 15 to 24 who have ever tried using a menstrual cup.

To find participants, we used a menstrual cycle tracking app Tip. When Clue users opened the app, they received a pop-up message inviting them to join the study.

Thanks to Clue, we were able to reach a gigantic group of teenage people. This also avoided the risk of sharing our survey with online networks that may be more biased, such as pro-cup groups.

At the same time, we relied on volunteers. We know that more of our participants came from cities and wealthier areas than average. It is possible that those who had more negative or positive experiences were motivated to complete the survey.

Pain, leakage and clogged cups

Many teenage people have had problems with menstrual cups, especially when using them for the first time. During the first period, the participants used a menstrual cup:

• only 10% successfully inserted the cup the first time

• over half (54%) reported cup leakage

• a quarter (25%) reported pain or discomfort during cupping

• 45% couldn’t remove the menstrual cup the first time and 17% said they needed support removing it

• 12 teenage people (2%) reported that their IUD was displaced (the IUD is small contraceptive devices inserted into the uterus).

Participants described these difficulties as disturbing. One said:

I was constantly told that a cup size was one size fits all and I was really hurting myself by trying to fit it all the time and feeling anxious that I was somehow different.

By the time the study was conducted, almost a third (29%) of teenage people had stopped using the cup. Of this group, 40% stopped using a cup after just one period.

Learning curve

The experience improved for women who continued to exploit a menstrual cup. By the time the cup was used for more than six cycles, 40% of teenage people reported no problems.

Of the participants who continued to exploit the cup, 48% felt confident after one to three cycles, and another 21% felt confident after four to six cycles. As someone explained:

The first time I tried to pull it out was terrifying because the grip is completely different to that of a tampon. You feel like it’s stuck and you’ll never get it out […] all my friends had the same first terrible experience, but after that it was fine!

Some participants changed their menstrual cup and found it helpful – 75% of those who changed said it improved their experience.

Our findings are as follows consistent with previous research who reported that menstrual cups require a learning curve and that over time users become more comfortable using them.

Education is essential

We found that many teenage people did not know enough about how to choose and exploit a menstrual cup.

Only 19% of teenage people strongly agreed when we asked if they had enough information to make an informed choice about a menstrual cup. Less than half (44%) knew that different menstrual cups had different features (such as different sizes, hardness and that different ones were designed for different cervical heights).

We need better information on how teenage people can more easily find the right cup size. Online resources such as the website “Place a cup in it” are intended to provide comparisons between different cups to inform users.

More broadly, teenage people need more information about reusable menstrual products like menstrual cups.

Providing realistic information about the learning process and potential early disadvantages can support teenage people feel prepared and able to cope conscious product choices.

Better information could also support governments and other organizations that are considering providing free or subsidized menstrual cups as part of initiatives to raise the affordability of menstrual products.

Comprehensive menstrual health education should begin in our schools, equipping teenage people with the knowledge to make informed choices about their bodies.