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A new study shows that simple, low-cost interventions can help teenage girls in Africa stay in school during their monthly periods. Paul Montgomery led the study. He is a professor in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at Oxford University in England. "Women are the driving force of economic development across Africa. And so it's particularly important to do what you can to keep girls going to school." One hundred twenty girls in Ghana took part in the study. They were an average of almost sixteen years old. They attended three secondary schools in urban areas and one in a rural area. In the study, girls at two of the schools received free sanitary pads and lessons on puberty. Their attendance increased by an average of six days, or nine percent, during a sixty-five-day term. The puberty lessons included information about personal care during menstruation. The girls also learned about the biology of their developing bodies and about pregnancy. At the third school, the girls received the lessons but not the free pads. Attendance by these girls also improved by nine percent, but that took about five months. At the fourth school the girls did not receive the pads or the lessons. That group showed no improvement in school attendance. Professor Montgomery says the girls in the study had several reasons for missing school during their monthly bleeding. A majority expressed embarrassment about the changes in their bodies. | 
