Is having a period a reason to call out sick?

Every woman experiences a different period. There are women who bleed through a maxi pad in an hour. Every move is a potential huge leak. They pass huge painful clots the size of a marble or bigger. Cramps can be so bad that they mimic childbirth. Would you honestly expect a woman in the early stages of labour to be at work? No.

When I was a teen, there were bad period days when I would be pale and almost faint. The pain could not stop with an Advil and the bleeding was extremely heavy.

Ideally, time missed at work should be minimized with pain relievers, but that isn't always possible. Your best bet is to not judge. As long as she isn't missing a week each month, there isn't anything you can/should do.

Be thankful you don't get horrific periods, a lot of woman do.

Allison since you are calling your co-worker a big baby seems to tell me you don't have bad cramps or bleed heavily on your period so you should be lucky and those are two good reasons why if you are on your period you should call in sick.

Some people get horrific periods (migrane, serious cramps). So she might be suffering from that.

agreed