How Familiar are our Adolescent School Girls about Menstrual Hygiene – A Cross Sectional Study in Coastal South India

Introduction: Menstrual health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not mere absence of disease or infirmity in relation to the menstrual cycle. As per the recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 77.3% of young women in India use hygienic methods. Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding menstruation among school-going adolescent girls. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 4 high schools for a period of 6 months. Sample size was calculated to be 350. Among the selected 4 schools, 90 students (45 students studying in 9th std. and 45 students studying in 10th std) were chosen from each school based on convenient sampling method. The data was collected by self-administration of a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire that contained questions on demographic characteristics, perception, source of information, and hygiene practices. The collected data was entered into Microsoft Excel and analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: 62.9% of study participants were studying in 9th standard. Majority of the study participants answered that the normal age at menarche is 11-15 years (77.7%, n=272), the menstrual cycle normally occurs once a month (92.9%, n=325) and menstruation doesn’t occur during pregnancy (87.14%, n=305). 82.85% (n=290) of study participants agreed that sanitary pad is the ideal absorbent material during menstruation. Majority of (80.3%, n=281) study participants used sanitary pads as absorbents during menstruation. 31.70% (n=111) of the adolescent school girls had to miss their school due to menstruation. Conclusion: Although the knowledge about menstruation is high among the participants, it is of great concern to us that the usage of cloth as an absorbent still prevails among the participants and most of them practice restrictions during menstruation.