It’s difficult to know exactly when you will get your period since it’s normal for a girl to begin menstruation as early as 9 years old or as late as 15 years old. Girls who are active in sports or are very thin may not get their period until a later age. In general, a young woman will get her period sometime during puberty about 2- 2 ½ years after she begins to develop breasts. This is a general rule as some girls will get their first period earlier and others may get it later. Another sign is a clear-white or light yellow, thin, sticky vaginal discharge that girls notice about 6 months before their period arrives. If you haven’t gotten your period by the time you are 15 or if you started your breast development more than three years ago and haven’t gotten your period, make an appointment with your health care provider (HCP) just to make sure your development is on track.
Our health guides are developed through a systematic, rigorous process to ensure accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Written and reviewed by experienced healthcare clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and consistently ranked as a top hospital by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, these guides combine clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and evidence-based medicine. We also incorporate research and best practices from authoritative sources such as the CDC, NIH, PubMed, top medical journals, and UpToDate.com. Clinical specialists and subject matter experts review and edit each guide, reinforcing our commitment to high-quality, factual, scientifically accurate health information for young people.