5 Surprising Secrets: How Amish Women Navigate Their Menstrual Cycle Without Modern Products

The Amish community, known for its commitment to a simple, traditional lifestyle, maintains practices for feminine hygiene that are radically different from the modern "English" world. As of December 2025, the core principles guiding how Amish women and girls manage their menstrual cycle remain rooted in self-sufficiency, sustainability, and traditional knowledge, eschewing the convenience of disposable sanitary products, tampons, and modern pharmaceuticals. Their approach is a fascinating blend of practical resourcefulness, deeply held cultural beliefs, and a reliance on age-old herbal wisdom, offering a compelling look into a private aspect of life rarely discussed outside their communities. The management of menstruation within the Old Order Amish communities is a private affair, heavily influenced by their religious doctrine, the *Ordnung*, which governs their separation from modern technology and consumer culture. This has led to a unique, often silent, tradition of menstrual care that prioritizes natural, reusable, and homegrown solutions.

Core Amish Practices & Beliefs Governing Menstruation

The Amish approach to the monthly cycle is holistic, encompassing physical health, pain management, and a deep respect for the body’s natural processes. These practices are entities that define their unique approach to women's health.

• Reusable Cloth Pads: The primary method for menstrual absorption is the use of handmade, reusable cloth pads. These are crafted from soft, absorbent fabrics, reflecting their commitment to self-sufficiency and rejection of disposable consumer goods.
• Sustainability and Simplicity: The choice of reusable products aligns perfectly with the Amish values of *simplicity* and *sustainability*. By avoiding plastic and mass-produced disposable items, they reduce waste and maintain their separation from the modern industrial economy.
• Herbal Home Remedies: Instead of over-the-counter pain relievers, Amish women often rely on a deep knowledge of herbalism to manage menstrual cramps and PMS symptoms. This traditional health practice is a cornerstone of their alternative healthcare system.
• Mother-Daughter Transmission: Education about puberty and the menstrual cycle is typically passed down privately from mother to daughter, rather than through formal schooling or external resources.
• Dietary Focus: While there are no strict food prohibitions, there is a strong emphasis on a healthy, whole-food diet, often starting before childbearing and continuing through the menopausal transition, which is believed to support overall reproductive health.
• Lactational Amenorrhea: For married women, prolonged breastfeeding is a common practice, which naturally suppresses ovulation and menstruation (a state known as *lactational amenorrhea*), often serving as a natural form of birth control and reducing the number of menstrual cycles experienced.

The Sustainable Secret: Handmade Reusable Cloth Pads

The most striking difference in Amish menstrual hygiene is the complete absence of store-bought, disposable feminine hygiene products. In a world where the average non-Amish woman uses thousands of disposable pads or tampons in her lifetime, the Amish adhere to a zero-waste solution.

Why Reusable Cloth Pads are the Standard

The choice of reusable cloth pads is not merely a matter of convenience or cost; it is a cultural statement. These pads are typically sewn at home, often from materials like soft flannel or cotton, ensuring they are comfortable and durable. This practice embodies several core Amish values:

1. Self-Sufficiency: Making their own sanitary products is a natural extension of their self-reliant lifestyle, where clothing, food, and other necessities are produced within the home or community.
2. Environmental Stewardship: By washing and reusing the pads, they eliminate the environmental impact of plastic-laden disposable products, aligning with their agrarian, earth-conscious worldview.
3. Separation from the World: Avoiding a trip to the modern drugstore for a commercial product reinforces their separation from the consumerist culture of the "English world."

The washing of these handmade sanitary products is done discreetly, often as part of the regular laundry routine, maintaining the private nature of the menstrual cycle within the community. This simple, sustainable method is an ancient tradition that has seen a resurgence in the modern world but has been a constant for the Amish.

Ancient Wisdom: Herbal Remedies for Menstrual Relief

Amish communities have a rich tradition of folk medicine and herbalism, a resource that becomes particularly important for managing the physical discomforts associated with the menstrual cycle, such as cramps and emotional distress.

Key Herbal Entities Used for Pain Management

Instead of reaching for ibuprofen or acetaminophen, Amish women turn to specific, time-tested home remedies derived from nature. The knowledge of these herbal remedies is a valuable entity passed down through generations.

• Crampbark (Viburnum opulus): This is perhaps the most well-known and specific remedy. Crampbark is highly regarded as a natural uterine sedative and decongestant. It is used to help relax the muscles of the uterus, providing relief from painful menstrual cramps and muscle spasms.
• Red Raspberry Leaf Tea: This sweet-smelling herb is widely used by Amish women for generations. It is known to be a uterine tonic, helping to strengthen the uterine walls and is often consumed to alleviate symptoms of PMS (Pre-Menstrual Syndrome).
• Clary Sage: In communities that utilize essential oils, blends containing Clary Sage are favored for their ability to help balance hormones and provide emotional support and calming effects during the cycle.

This reliance on natural, homegrown solutions underscores their overall philosophy of health, which favors preventative care and natural healing over modern pharmaceutical intervention.

The Silent Education: Mother-Daughter Transmission

The conversation surrounding puberty and the menstrual cycle is a delicate and private one within the Amish culture. Unlike the formal, public sex education found in most modern schools, the Amish system relies almost entirely on private, one-on-one instruction.

Learning About Puberty and Feminine Hygiene

The responsibility for educating a young girl about her changing body and the onset of her menstrual cycle falls squarely on her mother. This mother-daughter transmission is not a formal curriculum but a practical, hands-on teaching of feminine hygiene and health. * Practical Instruction: The daughter is taught how to make, use, and properly clean the reusable cloth pads. This practical instruction ensures the tradition of self-sufficiency continues. * Secrecy and Discretion: Historically, and in many communities today, menstruation is a topic that is simply not discussed openly. This discretion contributes to the "secret" nature of their practices, though it can also lead to a lack of comprehensive information for young girls. * Faith-Based Milestones: In some instances, particularly in more progressive or New Order Amish communities, there may be faith-based milestone classes or seminars that address ovulation, periods, and reproductive health, often led by a health doula or experienced community member, but always within a religious context. This system ensures that the knowledge is culturally relevant and passed down with the appropriate level of modesty and privacy expected by the *Ordnung*. The experience of Rumspringa, the period of adolescence where youth are allowed to experience the "English" world, may expose some young adults to modern products, but the vast majority return to the traditional methods upon joining the church. The Amish way of dealing with periods is a powerful testament to the enduring nature of tradition, resourcefulness, and community-based knowledge. Their sustainable, self-reliant practices offer a profound contrast to the disposable, consumer-driven methods of the outside world, showcasing a deeply rooted commitment to their unique way of life.