Menstruation can be a sensitive topic, which, as with any hard subject, often results in doing research online rather than discussing with friends, family-or even medical providers.

Which means that online resources have to do even more to help provide relevant and helpful information, and according to Pinterest, its users are relying on the app more than ever for menstruation information.

"Pinterest is a resource and destination for tips around learning about menstrual cycle phases with searches increasing for menstrual cycle chart (+95%), follicular phase (3x) and luteal phase (+96%). As Pinners search for tips to manage period pain, searches for 'period care' are up over 9x and 'period hacks for school' are up 4x."

With activity around this element growing, Pinterest has recently carried out a new survey to find out more about how people are searching for and accessing menstruation information within the app.

Pinterest joined forces with Opinium Research on a survey of over 1,000 Pinners in the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan.

"As explained by Pinterest:

"The survey found that people lack a holistic understanding of their menstrual cycles and are ashamed to discuss the topic widely. Additionally, over a third of respondents are eager to learn more about their menstrual cycles as it forms an essential component of their overall health and wellness.
The growing demand for information about periods has made it necessary for Pinterest to create a list of authoritative sources of women's health education; this will ensure that users find relevant help and insight within the app.

The designer, Pinterest said, allows women to get into a space to share insights and tips on how to possibly manage their menstrual activity, but Letitia Kiu has some related ideas or even tips. Pinners can also check out Pinterest's Today's Inspiration to find more content from creators, as well as a round-up of some of the best period and menstrual products on Pinterest from brands like Thinx, Modibodi, among others.

There is, after all, a lot of activity and interest in women's health, for instance. So it is interesting to see this increased activity around women's health in the app, as more Pinners are coming to rely on the app for a more holistic use outside of product discovery alone. And that's worth keeping in mind for marketers too: how different audiences are leaning on Pinterest for different sorts of information.

That is to say, there is no clear marketing opportunity in health-related elements, but in some brands and for some products, it does pay to consider how active Pinners are leaning on the app, which opens potentially new connection opportunities.