View Larger Image Girlology sessions are for girls ages 8-14, accompanied by a parent or other caregiver, and are intended to help tween and teen girls face puberty with greater confidence.
Girlology sessions are for girls ages 8-14, accompanied by a parent or other caregiver, and are intended to help tween and teen girls face puberty with greater confidence.

UAMS Adds Second Girlology® Puberty Session on Oct. 8

By Yavonda Chase

| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is offering a morning Oct. 8 session of the popular Girlology® puberty program after the afternoon session sold out.

The sessions are for girls ages 8-14, accompanied by a parent or other caregiver, and are intended to help tween and teen girls face puberty with greater confidence.

Two sessions will be held Oct. 8 in the 12th floor auditorium of the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute on UAMS’ Little Rock campus. The session times are:

  • 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
  • 2–4:30 p.m. – SOLD OUT

During Girlology®, attendees will learn about growth and development; bras and bra shopping; hygiene and hair management; nutrition and growth; menstruation and menstrual hygiene; respect for self and others; moods and emotions; and internet safety and curiosity.

The 2.5-hour course will be taught by UAMS physicians from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology — Nirvana Manning, M.D., department chair and professor; Laura Hollenbach, M.D., associate professor who sees patients at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s; and Kathryn Stambough, M.D., assistant professor in the department’s Division of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology who sees patients at Arkansas Children’s.

“Puberty can be a scary time, and often parents and guardians don’t know the best way to talk to their children about it. Our goal is to have physicians provide medically accurate information, create a shared experience and keep the lines of communication open in the future,” said Manning.

The cost is $30, although scholarships are available for those who need it.

For more information or to register for the event, visit uams.health/girlology.

UAMS held its first Girlology® session in August 2022. Approximately 220 girls and their accompanying adults attended the inaugural event. Since then, several more sessions have been held, including one in Northwest Arkansas on Sept. 17.

“We are so excited that the program continues to grow,” said Manning.

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.

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