Awareness and practices of menstrual hygiene among females of reproductive age in rural Puducherry – a mixed method study

Abstract

Background Menstruation is a physiological process. Unfortunately, there is substantial lacuna in knowledge related to menstrual hygiene among females. Objectives To assess the awareness and prevailing practices of menstrual hygiene, prevalence of symptoms related to genito-urinary tract infection, and the factors influencing menstrual hygiene practices, among women of reproductive age in rural Puducherry. Methodology The study was conducted in March 2017 in rural Puducherry adopting a mixed-methods approach. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used for a quantitative survey among 357 women of reproductive age. Qualitative data was collected through focused group discussions (FGDs). Results The mean age of the participants was 28.25 + 9.25 years. Thirty-three percent of the respondents had menstrual knowledge prior to menarche. A total of 90.8% were aware that menstruation is a physiological process. The majority of respondents 94.1%, used sanitary napkins as absorbents during menstruation and 60.7% of them changed it 3 times a day. Regarding the method of disposal, 47.6% participants threw it into the routine waste and 43.8% burnt it after use. Among 8.9% of cloth users 62.5% used a new cloth for each cycle and 37.5% of respondents washed and reused the cloth. Satisfactory cleaning of external genitalia was practised by 62.2%. Only 11.2% respondents had symptoms related to genito-urinary tract infection. From FGDs it was observed that the several socio-cultural factors and taboos restrict them from practising safe menstrual hygiene practices. Conclusion Our study has revealed that most of the females are still unaware of menstrual hygienic practices which suggest the need for appropriate health intervention measures to be implemented for their well-being.

A Qualitative Analysis of Urbanization and Menstrual Health Among Young Women

“…Some chose to discard them in open drains, while a minor percentage awaited collection by garbage trucks. Notably, prior studies have often mentioned traditional disposal methods like open spaces and burial [ 9 ], but there is a lack of discussion on enhanced area-specific disposal practices in the existing literature.…”

Knowledge, Attitude, Perception and Practices towards Disposal of Sanitary Napkins among Young Females: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In urban areas, the disposal is done along with solid waste management whereas in rural areas they may be buried, burned, and thrown in the garbage or latrine pits. [ 4 5 6 ] Therefore, the research was conducted to gain insights into the level of awareness regarding the proper disposal of sanitary napkins among young college-going females across India.…”

Development and validation of a menstruation-related activity restriction questionnaire among adolescent girls in urban resettlement colonies of Delhi

“…[ 4 ] The totality of these regressive worldviews contributes to normalization of menstruation-related restrictions. [ 5 ] Moreover, menstruation-related shame and embarrassment adversely impact MHM in young women who prefer to reuse clothes as adsorbent material without completely drying in the sun and avoid personal hygiene measures such as bathing and washing their hair. [ 6 ] Health and hygiene of the women is sacrificed due to these restrictions which leads to reproductive health issues like reproductive tract infections, pelvic inflammatory diseases.…”