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Lena Dunham's first period arrived when she was hiking with her dad.

Every woman who’s experienced menstruation can probably recall the first time it happened with perfect clarity.

Some ‘first time’ stories are mortifying, while others elicit barely a shrug. Lena Dunham says hers makes her “laugh too hard”, and she’s ever-so-kindly shared it with the world.

The author and Girls star was 14 years old and out hiking with her father Carroll Dunham at sunset when her very first period announced its arrival – by trickling down her leg, naturally.

As she noted in a lengthy, illustrated Instagram post, this was entirely unexpected.

Lena Dunham and her dad Carroll. (Getty)

"My first reaction was, naturally, that I had peed myself a whole bunch. When I realised it was blood I shrieked wildly- my first suspicion is always fatal injury," she wrote.

While teen Lena was busy freaking out, her dear dad was feeling pensive about the significant moment playing out.

"My father looked at me, misty-eyed. 'This, this mountain, is where we were the moment you became a woman. In many cultures you'd have to start birthing children now'," she recalls.

When I got my period I was 14 and still totally boobless, sure that it would arrive when I was approximately 24. I've told this story before but it just makes me laugh too hard: it was late August and I was hiking at sunset with my father when I felt something trickling down my leg. My first reaction was, naturally, that I had peed myself a whole bunch. When I realized it was blood I shrieked wildly- my first suspicion is always fatal injury- as my father looked at me, misty-eyed. "This, this mountain, is where we were the moment you became a woman. In many cultures you'd have to start birthing children now." I was like "can we please get home right fucking now and off this mountain?" We booked it home--never moved that fast before or since--and he handed me a tampon that was older than I was (my mom was already menopausal at this point) and tried to explain it to me through a crack in the door. "Up and...back?" I wept and shrieked and called all of my aunts AND my friend Harris's mom on the cordless phone #lolamoments ???? I love being a #lolainvestor because they're helping make the tampon dialogue more open than it was 16 years ago. I also love that @lola has our backs for all our firsts, whether it's your period, childbirth or some grand formal occasion where you're bleeding unjustly. Let's do this right. (Drawings ✏️ by @dokanstudio)

A post shared by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on

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Ah, CLASSIC dad move.

Understandably, his daughter wasn't quite so misty-eyed, demanding they get the hell off that mountain. Once they'd "booked it home", Lena's dad leapt into action.

"[H]e handed me a tampon that was older than I was (my mum was already menopausal at this point) and tried to explain it to me through a crack in the door. 'Up and...back?'" she wrote.

Listen: Why so many women are embracing the IUD over other birth control options. (Post continues.)

Not bad, Mr Dunham. Not bad at all. It's not easy to coach someone through a process you'll never have to follow yourself.

"I wept and shrieked and called all of my aunts AND my friend Harris's mom on the cordless phone," Lena concluded.

What was your 'first period' story like?