Study of reproductive hygiene among married women at urban field practice area, Dharwad

Authors

  • Pushpa S. Patil Department of Community Medicine, Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Medical College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India
  • Ashwini V. Rao Department of Community Medicine, Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Medical College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20183981

Keywords:

Reproductive hygiene, Reproductive tract infections, Married women, Menstrual hygiene

Abstract

Background: Women have to be assessed at every stage of her life to lead a healthy lifestyle free from diseases such as reproductive tract infections (RTI) and sexually transmitted infections, which can be easily prevented by good reproductive hygiene practices. There is a paramount need to address these problems at the earliest as they are increasing rapidly. This study was conducted to ascertain the practices of personal, menstrual and sexual hygiene among married women of reproductive age group, to determine the early symptoms of RTI’s in them and to determine association with key demographic variables and symptoms of RTI’s.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among married women of reproductive age group visiting the urban health centre, Dharwad using semistructured questionnaire after taking informed consent from them. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Frequencies and Chi-square tests were applied.

Results: All the study participants practiced good personal hygiene practices. 59% of study participants used sanitary pads.78% washed their external genitalia during menstruation. 86% washed their genitalia after sexual intercourse. Backache (31%) was the most common symptom of RTI. Significant association was found between age and boils in the vaginal area (p=<0.01), age and low backache (p=0.013) and age and pain during coitus (p=0.006).

Conclusions: In our study most of them were aware of the correct hygienic practices. Backache is the most common symptom of RTI among them. Couples have to be educated on reproductive hygiene to prevent infections.

References

Singh S, Chaturvedi S, Kumar A, Kannan AT. Reproductive Health of Newly Married Women residing in a Resettlement Colony of Delhi: A Longitudinal Study. Indian J Public Health. 2010;54(1):30-2.

Das P, Baker KK, Dutta A, Swain T, Sahoo S, Das BS, et al. Menstrual Hygiene Practices, WASH Access and the Risk of Urogenital Infection in Women from Odisha, India. PLoS ONE. 2015;10(6):e0130777.

Singh S, Kandpal SD, Roy D. Menstrual Hygiene Practices and RTI among ever-married women in rural slum. Indian J Community Health. 2011;23(2):41-3.

Balamurugan SS, Shilpa SS, Shaji S. A community based study on menstrual hygiene among reproductive age group women in a rural area, Tamil Nadu. J Basic Clin Reprod Sci. 2014;3(2):83-7.

Hema Priya S, Nandi P, Seetharaman N, Ramya MR, Nishanthini N, Lokeshmaran A. A study of menstrual hygiene and related personal hygiene practices among adolescent girls in rural Puducherry. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017;4(7):2348-55.

Kumar G, Prasuna JG, Seth G. Assessment of menstrual hygiene among reproductive age women in South-west Delhi. J Family Med Prim Care. 2017;6:730-4.

Mani G. Prevalence of Reproductive Tract Infections among married women in Tamil Nadu, India Pioneer. Med Sci. 2014;4(1):18-24.

Balamurugan SS, Bendigeri ND. Study of Reproductive Tract Infections among Women of the Reproductive Age Group in the Urban Health Training Centre Area in Hubli, Karnataka. Indian J Community Med. 2012;37(1):34–8.

Sreelatha CY, Sumana M, Sundar M, Sreeranga A, Pavithra P. Prevalence of symptoms of reproductive tract infections among married reproductive age group women in Hassan, Karnataka, India. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017;4(1):206-10.

Rana M, Rana VM, Atri SK. Contribution of Socioeconomic Factors to Reproductive Tract Infections and Infertility in Rural India. J Evol Med Dental Sci. 2015;4(21):3669-74.

Downloads

Published

2018-09-24

How to Cite

Patil, P. S., & Rao, A. V. (2018). Study of reproductive hygiene among married women at urban field practice area, Dharwad. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 5(10), 4393–4397. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20183981

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles