MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRACTICES AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

BACKGROUND: Menstruation has often been dealt with secrecy in many cultures. Such perceptions coupled with poor and inadequate sanitary facilities have often kept girls from not attending schools especially during periods of menstruation. There is gross lack of information on menstrual management among adolescent girls; most of these girls seek information about menstruation from their peers who do not know better. Adolescence being a time of tremendous opportunity, and at the same time also a time of heightened vulnerabilities, it is imperative to empower adolescent girls with adequate information and skills on crucial issues like menstrual hygiene and its management. AIM: To know the knowledge and menstrual hygiene practices of adolescent girls. MATERIAL & METHODS: Across sectional study was conducted among 210 adolescent girls in a rural field practice area of Rajarajeswari Medical College & Hospital. Data on socio-economic variables and menstrual characteristics were collected using pre-tested questionnaires. RESULTS: 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. Regarding practices, for cleaning of used cloths 88.9% girls used both soap and water. Regarding restrictions practiced, 97.6% girls practiced different restrictions during menstruation. CONCLUSION: There is a need to educate the girls about menstruation, its importance and hygiene maintenance; so as to enable them to lead a healthy reproductive life in future.