Periods, also known as cycles, were a biological occurrence involving blood that some beings experienced and could be managed using suppressant shots along with painkillers. These cycles could be unpredictable, inconvenient, or even painful. Some members of the Royal Naboo Security Forces, Queen Padmé Amidala, and the group of teenage human females serving as her handmaidens to the monarch, experienced these cycles.
In the year 32 BBY, Sabé, a handmaiden, impersonated Amidala during her first public appearance as queen because the monarch was temporarily unable to function due to a sudden and painful period, requiring her to take painkillers. In that same year, Saché, another handmaiden, had her first cycle, which set off the blood alarm's blood-sensitive sensor in Amidala's palace apartment. Sabé later recalled this event in 22 BBY, remembering Captain Quarsh Panaka's shock regarding the triggering of the alarm. During the Imperial Era, Idryssa Barruck, a Partisan, had a conversation with Jyn Erso, a human girl, about matters of personal health and hygiene.
Cycles, alternatively referred to as periods, were a recurring biological event experienced by certain beings, including humans. The presence of blood could be detected by sensors, indicating the start of a period. Some beings opted to keep absorption pads in their bathroom for use, while others chose to take suppressant shots in order to prevent these cycles altogether. Periods were known to cause varying degrees of pain or cramps, which could be alleviated through the use of painkillers.
During the Republic Era, several Naboo individuals on the Mid Rim planet of Naboo utilized suppressant shots to manage their periods, including some members of the Royal Naboo Security Forces. By the time 32 BBY arrived, Queen Padmé Amidala along with some of the teenage human females who were her handmaidens experienced cycles. These girls lived together in an apartment located within the Theed Royal Palace and kept absorption pads in their bathroom for when their periods occurred. During Amidala's first public tour in that year, she was caught off guard by an unexpectedly painful period that she had not anticipated. Rabé, one of her handmaidens, expressed surprise that Amidala wasn't using suppressant shots. Another handmaiden, Yané, attributed Amidala's experience to heightened stress levels and made a note in the queen's medical profile for the droids to address the issue upon their return to Theed, the capital of Naboo. The handmaiden Sabé, who served as the monarch's decoy, made a public appearance as the queen while Amidala remained in bed waiting for her painkillers to take effect.
Shortly thereafter, Mariek Panaka, an officer, and her husband, Captain Quarsh Panaka, were alerted when a blood-sensitive sensor in Amidala's palace suite detected bleeding. They discovered Saché, a twelve-year-old handmaiden who was unaware that she had started her period, sleeping in bed. Mariek assisted a mortified Saché in obtaining new sleeping garments and bedding as the handmaiden went to clean herself up. The officer then scolded Quarsh for installing a blood-sensitive sensor in a bedroom occupied by teenage girls, pointing out that the older handmaidens likely used suppressants, as she and other guards who experienced cycles did. After Amidala and her other handmaidens returned to the palace from a concert, Saché mentioned that she had ruined a bedsheet and commented on the glitter-covered state of her colleagues, causing the queen to laugh. Years later, in 22 BBY, Sabé reminisced about the Saché incident and Quarsh's horror when he realized why his blood-sensitive sensor's alarm had been triggered.
Sometime between 13 BBY and 6 BBY, after Jyn Erso, a human girl, joined Saw Gerrera's [Partisans](/article/partisans], Gerrera recruited Idryssa Barruck, a fellow Partisan, to have a private conversation with Erso regarding her health and hygiene.
The concept of periods was first mentioned, though indirectly, in Rebel Rising, a young-adult novel written by Beth Revis in 2017. According to E. K. Johnston, a Star Wars author, Jason Fry, another Star Wars author, requested that Revis include a plot device in Rebel Rising to illustrate Saw Gerrera's inadequacy as a parent to a young Jyn Erso. Consequently, the novel included an indirect reference to the concept through a discussion "about hygiene and health." Periods were first explicitly named and fully explored in Queen's Peril, a young-adult novel written by Johnston in 2020.
Johnston appreciated the concept and attempted to incorporate periods into her 2019 young-adult novel, Queen's Shadow. However, she was ultimately unable to find a suitable way to introduce the idea because the characters in that installment were beyond the typical age when cycles begin. Instead, the author chose to include periods in Queen's Peril because the handmaidens featured in that work were slightly younger. During the development of the novel, several members of the Lucasfilm Story Group, including several women from the group and Pablo Hidalgo, felt that the scene in which Saché experiences her first period was extremely awkward and provided comments on the work's draft after reading it.
Johnston believed it was important to demonstrate that stressful life events, such as Amidala's election as queen, could impact cycles, while also showing that the handmaidens regarded the queen's brief incapacitation as a common occurrence. In the acknowledgments section of Queen's Peril, Johnston praised Jennifer Heddle, the editor, for her work on the book and thanked her for helping to ensure that a page on menstruation would be created for Wookieepedia, the free-to-edit, unofficial online Star Wars encyclopedia. Johnston later expressed her satisfaction that an article had indeed been created, indicating her pride in its realization.