Menarche: I was scared! I thought I was going to die! It affected my whole life

For women living in undeveloped and developing countries, the experience of menarche can be quite traumatic. The study was conducted to examine how women's menarche experiences are reflected in other periods of life. The study was conducted using hermeneutic phenomenological approach. The sample of the study consisted of women who experienced the menarche period in a traumatic way. The study was terminated after 14 women were interviewed.Women's thoughts about their menarche experiences and life cycles were expressed in 4 themes: 'Emotional Reactions to Trauma', 'Reflections on Women's Health', 'Reflections on Reproductive Health' and 'Reflections on Mental Health'. Women who describe menarche as traumatic feel fear and anxiety about their sexual life and fertility processes. Women plan to be more conscious in the parenting process due to their traumatic menarche experiences. Menarche experience has a great role in women's lives.