Baby Helen wasn't such a baby any longer-hadn't reached menarche, but as near as I could tell it would be any day, any day.

A woman who started to menstruate before age 14 has a risk that is 30 percent higher than a woman who reached menarche at 16.

In fact, the woman had not reached menarche until 15, so the pregnancy was medically impossible.

In some places it is customarily made when a young woman reaches menarche, although this is less common now than it was in the past.

Girls with smart mothers have it removed surgically when they reach menarche.

Incidences of endometriosis have occurred in postmenopausal women, and in less common cases, girls may have endometriosis symptoms before they even reach menarche.

When a girl reaches menarche she is held in the lap by adults in a ritual similar to that at birth.

But Colene was just reaching menarche, and was not at all comfortable with such paraphernalia.

And I remembered all too well how Father quit letting me sit on his lap, had stopped it completely and utterly, once I reached menarche.

One notable exception is girls who reach menarche (their first menstrual period) between the ages of 9 and 11, some 2 to 4 years earlier than the average girl.