A study of menstrual hygiene among rural adolescent school girls in rural field practice area of a medical college, Davangere- a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Adolescence in girls signifies the transition from girlhood to womanhood; one fifth of world population is between 10 and 19 years old. Menstruation is a phenomenon unique to the females. Menstruation is a monthly occurrence that requires access to appropriate materials and facilities, without which, females suffer from poor menstrual hygiene which restricts their movement and self-confidence. Increased knowledge about menstruation right from childhood may escalate safe practices and may help in mitigating the suffering of millions of women.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 200 adolescent girls in a rural field practice area of S. S. Institute of Medical Sciences. Data on socio-economic variables and menstrual characteristics were collected using pre-tested questionnaires for a period of two months from September to October 2018.Results: Total of 200 girls was interviewed. 87.6% of the girls were aware about menstruation prior to the attainment of menarche. Mothers were the first informants in about 56.5% girls. Overall 51.5% adolescent girls were using sanitary napkins as menstrual absorbent, while 45.6% were using used cloths. 97.6% girls practiced different restrictions during menstruation. Some of the sociodemographic factors like religion, type of family and mother’s education, SES were significantly associated with menstrual hygienic practices.Conclusions: There is a need to educate the girls about menstruation, its importance and hygiene maintenance; to enable them to lead a healthy reproductive life in future.

A cross sectional study on menstrual hygiene and associated factors among high school girls in rural Mysuru

“…17 The majority of our study participants belonged to the lower socioeconomic class according to B G Prasad scale, and in the study by Basavaraju et al 36.5% were from the middle socioeconomic class. 18 The mean age of menarche was noted as 12.3±0. 22,23 In our study, 78.9% of high school girls had 4-6 days of menstrual flow and in the study by Mathiyalagen et al 76.7% of girls had a menstrual flow for 3-5 days.…”