# How much did your daughter grow after her period started?



## 5796

I wanted to post this for a friend who has a 11 year old girl (will be 12 in two months) she started her period last month. She is on the petite side and my friend's doctor told her that she should expect only two more inches of growth. We talked about it and she remembers growing more than 2 inches when she was in highschool and I told her I even grew an inch in college.

What has anyone else seen in growth from their daughters after their period started?


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## Bokonon

My daughter is only 2, but I got my period at 10.5 years old and didn't grow after that.


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## Buzzer Beater

Dd1 started her period at 9, and grew at least 3 inches in high school. We also found out at Christmas break she grew another inch sometime in college (she's a junior now).


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## Dar

Three and a half inches, I believe... she was 11, too.


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## whatsnextmom

It's only been a year since DD (newly 15) started her period. She's grew about 3 inches just prior to starting and another inch just after. She hasn't gotten any taller the last 10 months. I suspect she's done at 5'7" (which is what you'd expect from having a 5'4" inch mom and a 6'4" dad.) Personally, I was 12 when my period started and full grown at 13. Two of my nieces grew all through high school but then, they were also destined to be 6 feet tall.

The average is about 2 inches after menstration starts but of course, there are girls who grow more and girls who will grow less. If this girls parents are very tall and she's still small then sure, she may have a big spurt in her. If her parents are average or small, she may very well be done or close to it. Just based on DD's friends, we really haven't witnessed any big spurts in girls after middle school.


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## mtiger

Yep, *generally*, girls will average ~2inches after starting menstruation. Which means some will grow more, and some less. My daughter started at 14, and grew another 2-ish inches. I haven't measured her lately, but she may have added a bit. She's about 5'7".


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## ollyoxenfree

I'm not entirely sure, but close to 3 inches, I think. From what I can recall, when she was 12, she was shorter than I am now, and she's now taller than me by more than an inch.


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## enkmom

My daughter started her period at 13, and grew about an inch in the school year before she started high school. She was at her adult height when she started 9th grade.

On the other hand, my niece was 5'6'' when she started her period at 11. She just turned 13 and is 5'10'', and her ped. still thinks she may grow another inch or two.


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## karne

1 1/2 -2 inches so far. My guess would be another inch or two before she's done.


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## Super~Single~Mama

I stopped growing altogether after getting my period. Same with all the women in my family (mom, aunts, cousins, etc). I suspect there is a genetic component to it.

All of us were on the "tall" side in our classes, and then we stopped growing and ended up being completely average height, although one cousin is very petite.


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## jdsf

DD14 started at 11 and has grown an inch total since, I think she's done growing vertically, but she was always on the tall end of her friends. She was 5'1" or 5'2" at that time, I grew 2 or maybe 3 inches, I was 11 also and reached my final height and weight by 14. DD11 is showing signs of puberty, but is so slight that I'm sure she'll keep growing after she gets hers, I'm guessing at 12, she will probably only be 5' by then, though.


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## TranquilMind

No, not much growth at all after the period started at age 12. Daughter is now 15 and is about 5'8". I'm certain that she reached nearly full height before the period started and I've read that this is generally the case. It sure was with me. I was 5' 9" at 12 years old.


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## 7thDaughter

My DD started at 13 1/2. Thereafter she grew 4 inches through high school and topped out at 5' 6". She was never more than 10th percentile until high school. But she made it to 5' 6" and is happy with that. Many of her classmates matured in 5th-6th grade and stopped growing in middle school. She was a late bloomer, as were DH & I both.

Between genetics and nutrition it's hard to know what will happen. DS was in the 50th percentile till adolescence; but now is likely to finish 6' 2 - 3" but his dad and both grandfathers are all 5' 10ish. One of his great-grandfathers was 6' 5" but I wasn't expecting the height to skip 2 generations! However, about the time he hit adolescence I discovered raw milk, pastured meat, & high mineral foods with good natural fats (check out Traditional Nutrition). Also his eyes are the best in the family. I think the food is what made the difference, but we'll never know. It's only anecdotal evidence!

Coming from a large family, I see is a strong nutritional aspect to all this. After reading Deep Nutrition (Catherine Shanahan) I talked to my dad and correlated his comments into a timeline with the births of his 7 children, along with his jobs and how well he could provide for his pregnant wife and growing family. (Mom is gone now so I couldn't talk to her.) Dad was quite clear about "hard times" and "squeeze week" (pay never stretched to the end of the month) and where we lived and the jobs he held. Mom had a garden and Dad would often shoot a rabbit or bird for dinner. (They lived in the country in the far North.) I can see a direct correlation between height & health in the children that varied across the years with his & Mom's ability to provide for all of us in early childhood. I was lucky, after my birth he had a good salary and the family was living where we had plenty of sunshine and fresh food all year. Mom once said I was born small but just wouldn't stop growing. Today, now that we are all getting older, I can see how the trajectory of our lifetime health reflected the early nutrition plus alterations (good and bad) due to adult dietary habits. Even our dental health shows it. High mineral food in childhood produced stronger bones and teeth.

Feed your littles high protein, good fats, high mineral food!


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## Shaunamom

My daughter's grown 2 inches now, but it's only been 2 years, and she doesn't seem to be slowing down, based on how much she eats! ;-) I grew 9 inches after menstruation started, however.


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## onlyzombiecat

My dd just started her period at 12 years. If she only grows another 2 inches she will be the same height as me and dh is only a couple of inches taller than me so that seems a reasonable enough expectation.

I don't remember what my height was when my period started. I don't remember a big height change during high school though and I don't think I got any taller in college.


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## Big Mamasota

My daughter started her period when she was thirteen years old and she was not even 5' tall. I am only 5'3" and my husband is 5'8" so I was concerned if she would grow because she was a late bloomer. She is now 5'7" and so beautiful. I have a thirteen 1/2 year old who hasn't started and she turns 14 in four months. I am hoping she will grow as tall as her sister too. Late bloomers might grow taller!!!


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## Gs Mom

I am feeling much better now that I read all these stories. My daughter started her period this summer at aged 11. She is only 4'-10" and we just saw a new pediatrician today. This doctor told me she would only grow another inch -- if that, purely based on the fact that she has started menstruating. I always thought she would be taller than me since she has bigger feet already. I am 5"-3" got my period at age 15 -- I don't remember how much more I grew but I do remember growing that last inch the first year of college. So we will see.....


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## USAmma

I started at 15 (I know-- late!) but still was growing until my first or second year of college. 
My SIL started at around age 10 or 11, and she's one of the tallest women I know. She grew a *lot* after starting.

My own daughter hasn't started yet. She'll be 13 soon.


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## MaggieLC

I wonder if increased nutrition has changed the old adage "girls won't grow after they menstruate." I got my period at 12 and I don't think I grew much after that at all. However, I was about 4' 11'' and I did grow about a quarter to a half inch during my first two pregnancies. My doctor said it had something to do with lots of growth hormone being released, but he said he didn't see this really often. I'm barely 5 feet now and didn't grow during my last pregnancy in my late 30s.

My oldest got her period at about 9 and grew about 2 inches. She's 5'2''

My middle girl got hers at 13 and was already nearly 5'4'' and didn't grow much after that.

My youngest got hers at 10 and has grown at least 3 or 4 inches since she got her period. She's 5'3'' at the moment.

They are all taller than me.

Just from my family of women it looks like it's really variable.


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## utandy

I have two daughters that have started their periods. They are 23 and 19. Neither grew more then half and inch once they started. Both were in their late 12's if that matters.


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## purplerose

One daughter grew about 5" after starting. She is 5'11"(this rapid growth caused her some problems and she was in physical therapy for a few weeks during that time) Another grew about 2" after. She was really tall for her age to begin with, though. She is now 5'9". Still waiting on daughter3 to start and then have another daughter who is only two.


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## erigeron

My daughter is still a toddler, but I remember I was 5'1" in 8th grade and started my period towards the end of the school year. I am now 5'5.5". At least some of that growth must have been following menarche.


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## chickabiddy

Much to my daughter's dismay, her doctor told her to expect that she'd stop growing about two years after menarche (she's only 5'1" and by these calculations, has a year to go).


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## Tigerchild

DD started her period at 10. She was 5'3" then. She's now 12, is 5'6" and appears to still be growing steadily towards 5'7" though not at the massive growth spurt rate that she did right before her period started.


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## Ginam96

I got my period when I was 14. I was about 5ft tall at that time when I graduated highschool I was 5'1 and when I came home from collage for a physical I was 5'3 so I grew 3 inches over 6 years .


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## Ginam96

My daughter is going to be 11 in April and does have some pubic hair she is almost 5 ft tall and has not started her period yet. I'm hoping it holds off until she's 12 at least.


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## Mirzam

My eldest dd have her first period at 12 3/4, but didn't get another until she was 14 and around 5' 6'. She finally stopped growing at 19 and topped out at 5' 9". My middle DD didn't start her period until she was 15 and was already 5' 7', a year later she is 5' 8".


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## crazyms

My oldest daughter isn't near puberty ages yet at only 8.5 but I don't remember growing much after puberty although I'm not sure exactly where I was on height when it started. I know I got my first training bra at 6th grade and all my other "changes" around 11.5-12 and started AF at exactly 12.5. At 14 and starting high school I was my adult size height (5'3") and figure (DD) though so I couldn't have grown much after AF started - any additional growth, mostly figure wise, within a year and a half of starting. I think my weight around the time it started was about 103 although I started putting on weight after that and have mostly ranged 145-155 since high school/adulthood. My sister and all the other women in my family seem to be about the same size and AF start. I really think we were all "fully grown" within a year or two of the start of AF but that is probably something to do with genetics.


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## amees

I got to this thread as my own 11 yo DD just started recently. She is not even 5" and she has another cousin who is 4'11" ... I haven't asked her yet if she had any growth after she hit puberty. I myself started at right after my 13th birthday but then I didn't any more periods till I was 15.... and I did have got 3-4" by then. I am 5'6" not too tall but not very short either. DH is 5' 11".

Just curious if adding gymnastic or any other kind of stretching exercise might help with growth??

Amee


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## whatsnextmom

I don't think the stretching is going to change her genetics and make her taller or smaller than she would be naturally. However, I've heard women who've gained an inch as adults through pilates. They aren't "growing" but they are improving posture and increasing space in their spine.


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## LTurtle

My DD hasn't started hers yet. For me though, I was 5'5" at 12 when I started menstruating. At 13 I stopped growing, 5'5.5". But ten years later I grew another half inch during pregnancy, so now I'm 5'6". I always assumed that I stopped growing because I had started my period. My mother started hers two or three years later and is several inches taller than me. (I'm the shorty in my family)


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## shadi12

i am 12 and 4 months ago i started my period.i am asian and im scared that if i dont grow anymore.im 5'3" and a little fat thats why im scared to dont grow anymore.im 128lbs 

do u guys think that i can grow like a few inches?(that would be lovely if u guys share your experiences with me and tell me what to do and what to not,and tell me what u think)


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## moominmamma

Shadi, statistically speaking you probably won't grow more than 1-2 inches. But 128 lbs is a healthy weight for someone who is 5'3". I'm less than an inch taller than you, just three pounds lighter and I run marathons. If I were you, I'd concentrate not on your weight or your height, but on your strength and your health. If you're not physically active every day, set that as a goal. If you don't feel like you're strong with lots of endurance, find a way to better condition your body. It doesn't have to be a team sport or anything competitive if you don't enjoy those things. My own teenage daughters have enjoyed a combination of running, mountain-biking, recreational gymnastics and yoga. The lifestyle habits you lay down over the next five years will set the tone for the rest of your life. If you make choices now to build yourself into someone who is strong and active, you will have a good chance of staying that way forever and not feeling like you need to "watch your weight" all the time.

Good luck!

Miranda


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## BeeandOwlsMum

Neither of my daughters are old enough yet, but I grew about another inch after my period started - however, I was 15 when it started, and was already 5'7". So, the lateness, combined with the height I already had most likely meant that I didn't have much left to grow.


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