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Indian Journal of Nutrition

Research Article

Menstruation Hygiene and Symptoms among School Going Girls in Rural Area of Midnapur district, West Bengal, India

Anumita Mallick1 and Prakash Ch Dhara2

1Faculty,Department of Nutrition, Belda College, Belda, West Midnapore, West Bengal, India
2Director (Officiating), Centre for Distance and Online Education, and Ex-Professor of Dept. of Human Physiology with Community Health,Vidyasagar University, Midnapore- 721102,West Bengal, India
*Corresponding author: Prakash C. Dhara, Director (Officiating), Centre for Distance and Online Education, Vidyasagar University, PaschimMidnapore- 721102, West Bengal, India. Phone: +91 9433226695/ 8373063906; Email:prakashcdhara@gmail.com
Article Information: Submission: 01/05/2022; Accepted: 22/06/2022; Published: 28/06/2022
Copyright: © 2022 Anumita Mallick, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Menstrual Hygiene for school girls is a neglected issue in low income nations. Restricted accesses to water, sterilization and cleanliness in schools have made it hard for girls to cleanly and unquestionably deal with themselves during menstrual cycle. Social practices and limitations influence girls’ capacity to similarly and completely take part in family and social life, and many girls don’t know how to maintain the menstrual hygiene. This cross-sectional study was carried out by giving questionnaires to 232 girls. The study tool in this examination was an organized and self-regulated questionnaire. All the girls in the age group of 11-15years, who had attained menarche and were willing to participate in the study, were included. Their age at menarche was 13±1.6 years. The duration of flow of blood in the menstrual cycle was 3-5 days among the 56.5% of girls. Most of the girls were free from premenstrual symptoms (77.15%). About 40% of the girls have reported that they use sanitary pads during menstruation. New cloths were used by 19.83% girls and 29.74% girls used old clothes during menstruation. There were 76 (32.76%) girls having reportedly irregular periods whereas 156 (67.24%) girls had regular periods. Our study showed that mean age at menarche was 12.7 years. Less than half of the menstruated girls use sanitary pad during menstruation. Girls should be educated about the facts of menstruation and proper hygienic practices.