What Free Bleeding Is Like, According to Someone Who Does It

I started this before I knew there was a name for this, and it wasn’t because I wanted to join the “freebreeding” movement.I did not know that TikTok trends Until recently.

I started it about 7 years ago. I just gave birth to my second son and immediately felt very sensitive around my stomach and pelvis. I mean, all these years later, I still don’t wear buttoned pants. And I didn’t even have a C-section. It was a vaginal birth – and a pretty standard one – but when it was over I just thought: I can’t do anything unnatural again, and I’m especially worried about my period. I felt this strongly.

Even before I had children, I didn’t really like the feel of tampons. I didn’t want to think about replacing it during the day. And emotionally, I felt the urge to remove them from my life completely. The pads were also uncomfortable as I moved around a lot which made me feel anxious and my skin felt very prickly and rough. I used postpartum pads during both pregnancies, and I actually used them for most of my first period. I didn’t use tampons until my early 20s. But even on a practical level, I kept asking myself: why spend money all this money For napkins and tampons when you could just put a soft cotton hand towel in there like you used to? I mean, it worked for many women before me… why not now??

So the first thing I did was buy period underwear. I think it was Shinx. I bought a few pairs, but they are expensive. But years have passed and I don’t use them much. I only wear them when I go out to my kids’ school events or meetings. A sufficient amount of blood will be drawn so you won’t have to worry about anything for about 6 hours.

But on most menstrual days, I try to be smart about it by just using a towel or wearing regular black cotton underwear. For example, if you’re going for a walk to exercise, wear black yoga pants. And I don’t wear nice jeans when I’m on my period. Such that. When I’m on my period, I try not to schedule any plans that will take me away from home for too long (I’ve been working from home for years). I don’t usually travel into the city (I live on Long Island). If necessary, arrange your days so that you can change your underwear and towels 100 times a day.

The great thing that happens after a few cycles of free bleeding is that you start to feel the blood flowing from inside your body. And you can kind of “catch” it before it’s too late. You can go to the bathroom and wipe yourself before the blood drips out. Now that I understand my body, I can manage my bleeding by going to the bathroom at the right time. I’m not really sitting in a pool of blood. I also get a lot of it in the shower.

But let me tell you, I’ve always been a moderate breeder. I’ve never been one to have to change tampons as often as many of my friends. And since I stopped scooping, my periods have become even lighter and shorter. Previously she took a week, now he took 3 days. I don’t have any menopausal symptoms, and I no longer have cramps. I think that is also related. Getting your body to do what it’s supposed to do is a very interesting process to observe.

Nighttime might be the hardest part because you won’t be able to go to the bathroom as much. My sister and I started free bleeding at the same time. A few months later, we built a little thing called a “moon pad” just for the two of us. It’s a circular quilt that you put on your bed and it absorbs the blood that comes out during the night. Our mom is a quilter, so she’s used to throwing out quilts to solve anything. If you don’t have a “moon pad”, go the old-fashioned way and just place a soft towel under your body on the bed. I’m currently single so I don’t have to worry about someone ruining the arrangement. I don’t even have expensive sheets.

What do you do when you start dating? I’m planning to invest in more expensive period underwear. In fact, some are quite sexy. The idea of ​​buying tampons or pads again is very foreign to me. A man wouldn’t do that. There is no way. Just say, “I use period underwear and it works for me.” I definitely wouldn’t continue dating him if he didn’t think that was acceptable. That’s part of who I am at the moment. This all goes back to the shame and stigma that women carry with everything they do. And I am fighting it in my own way.

We tend to overthink things. If it gets dirty, I immediately take a shower and wash it, so it’s no big deal. I definitely bled while I was in the car waiting for the kids to get off the bus, and…it’s okay. I say to myself, “It’s just one of those days.” A few weeks ago, it was the first day of my period, and I was picking up my kids from art class when my son said, “Can you come and show me some of my work?” This is what I thought. “I’m literally bleeding right now. I’m sorry, I can’t!” Like, I had to get real about it because I felt it coming out. Let me tell you, I’m very honest with my sons. They are his 10 year old and his 7 year old and know what periods are. They know I bleed. I think this is a great byproduct of free bleeding. I just became more open about menstruation.

All of this being said… there are many privileges to free bleeding. I can work from home work for yourselfSo you can run to the bathroom 65 times a day if you feel like it. Some of my friends think it’s crazy for me to do this, but most of the time my friends are people who bleed a lot. I also consider myself privileged to have no fibroids, no endometriosis, and no heavy, painful period pain.

I think it’s a great blessing to be able to draw blood freely. I feel guilty because my periods are getting lighter. Women are judged on a lot of the things we do and this is my own little rebellion.