Menstrual Hygiene and Practices of Rural Adolescent Girls of Raichur

Original Article Background: Menarche is a significant milestone in the transitory developmental journey of an adolescent. Poor personal hygiene and defective menstrual management practices give rise to repeated reproductive tract infections (RTIs), which are otherwise preventable. Objectives: To access menstrual hygiene and practices of rural adolescent girls. 2 To find out menstrual disorders experienced by adolescent girls. 3 To impart them health education regarding menstrual hygiene and practices. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in RHTC, a field practice area under the administrative control of Dept of Community Medicine Navodaya Medical College, Raichur, from Augest to September 2012. A structured questionnaire was utilized to collect data from the sampled population. Adolescents who attained menarche, aged between 13 to 16 years from 3 high-schools were interviewed. Altogether 10 questions relating to awareness about menstrual hygiene and practices were asked to each of them. The data was entered into excel spread and frequencies and proportions were calculated. Results: During our study, we found that they were not properly maintaining the menstrual hygiene.68.8% girls had knowledge about menstruation before they first experienced and mother was found to be the main source of information for 41(51.3%) girls. 28 (35%) girls used clothes and reused them.38 (47.5%) girls gave history of dysmenorrhoea and 13(16.3%) said they have irregular menstrual cycles. Conclusion: Knowledge was better but taking into account the health implications and prevailing socio-cultural and economic factors, there is need for a continuous, school education programme.The girls should be educated about the process and significance of menstruation, use of proper pads and its proper disposal. There is a need for improving access to sanitary pads and advanced provision of it.