Cost of Menstrual Hygiene Practices in Gujarat, India

Abstract

Menstrual cycles are an integral part of a nearly two-third of a woman’s life, and occur every month. Menstruation is a public health concern because irrespective of whether a woman can afford hygienic absorbents or not, she undergoes menstruation phase every month. Therefore, menstruation requires to be examined from public health policy perspective. Choice of menstrual products is not only subject to budget constraint but also to “other regarding preferences”, as can be explained by behavioural economics theories. This study therefore, seeks to get insights into the determinants of choice of menstrual product. The study attempts to devise a method of estimating the minimum yearly cost of menstrual hygiene and also provides an estimate for the same, which can be helpful for the policy prescription. The study is undertaken in Gujarat (India), from a cross-section of districts (developed, developing and tribal), and also a cross-section of socioeconomic status and age. A total of 1025 responses are collected and analysed to get insights into product preferences and resultant cost. The study finds that it is economical to make use of menstrual cups, however, cultural constrains might restrict its use.

Persistent economic inequalities in menstrual hygiene practices in India: a decomposition analysis

“…Hence, exposure to media has a positive impact on promoting the usage of hygienic menstrual products. Our result is similar to the findings from other studies, which state that women actively using media are two times more likely to use menstrual hygiene products than their counterparts (Garg et al, 2012;Bulsari et al, 2022;Ghosh and Bose, 2021). Specifically, women who spend more time on watching TV and listening to the radio have improved their level of menstrual hygiene (Patil, 2014).…”