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Meet Varsha Jain, a space gynecologist who helped women astronauts conquer periods in space!

Her current research examines menstruation, menstrual suppression, and risks of blood clots in space.

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Let’s be real: having periods can be troublesome for women. All women. Even though menstruation is integral to being a woman, it still is not a perfect science to predict when a woman will get her period.

Now dig deeper. If having your periods on Earth can cause you to be moody and makes you want to curl up in your bed or simply not get out of your bed, what would this experience be zero-gravity? Turns out, menstruating in space isn’t significantly different or complicated compared to what it is on Earth.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson spent 377 days in space. Probably, the most amount of time spent in space by any US woman. This is an achievement that was made easier, thanks to Dr Varsha Jain.

But Dr Jain she isn’t just any doctor. She is perhaps the rarest kind of doctor the world has ever seen: a Space Gynecologist. According to the website Motherboard.Vice, her latest research that is soon to be published, looks at the risk of female astronauts developing venous thromboembolism (a blood clot), which "is unknown at the moment.”

There are numerous challenges associated with having a period in space. Firstly, there’s just one toilet in most spacecraft that can accept blood -- usually the other the toilets are designed recycle urine into water. Also, there are possible options for period suppression in space, and also while training to go to space. Waste disposal is not a problem either. All Space Stations have appropriate facilities for disposal of human blood on board.  Menstruating in space is not dangerous but it can be inconvenient, and some women astronauts prefer just not to bother with it. Also, the added bother and weight of tampons and sanitary towels can also be a hassle.

However, knowing that the possible future of long missions on commercial spaceships will also focus on the general well-being of women during those difficult times of the month is heartening.

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