Hm. Why would they have to take over? Women on their period are not invalids. Though maybe the weren't allowed to do household tasks?

Now imagine women without modern feminine hygiene products. It’s a very different story.

right, a woman with a particularly heavy period might need to be cared for on the worst day.

Some women are completely disabled by their period pains. I can imagine the husband coming home to attend to her, the kids, the animals, and the house

There are still some cultures where women isolate themselves in separate buildings while they are "unclean".

Yes, this brings us back to my original comment :)

Probably considered unclean -- some religions still believe this (Islam, Judaism). You can't clean and cook if you're unclean? I don't know.

In Islam and Judaism women can still do housework. It's a ritual purity, not an actual physical one.