There are a lot of things about menstrual/reproductive health that I didn’t know until embarrassingly recently.

For example, birth control pills. I knew from sitcoms that they came in a 28-day cycle, but I assumed that was because the content of the pill was different depending on which part of the cycle it was. I didn’t know that, in a 28-day pack, the first 21 pills are the same and the last 7 are placebos.

I also didn’t realize that menstrual pads are meant to stick to the underwear, not directly to the skin.

I take some consolation in knowing that I still know more about reproductive health than the average US senator.