Addressing the debate of menstrual leave-understanding the relationship between attitude towards menstruation and perception towards menstrual leave among undergraduates in a medical college in Kerala
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20261764Keywords:
Attitude, Menstruation, Menstrual leave, WomenAbstract
Background: The debate on menstrual leaves has evolved into a polarizing discourse. It critiques gender equity, workplace politics and the position of women in academic and professional spaces. It also interweaves the religious, social and political norms surrounding menstruation. This study addresses the views on menstruation and menstrual leaves among female medical undergraduates whose attitudes strike a balance between their sound medical knowledge and the prevailing societal norms.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using the 4th edition protocol of Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ) and items assessing awareness, utilization and support for menstrual leave. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize variables and analysis between variables was done using the chi-square test.
Results: 54.5% of female students perceived menstruation to be a debilitating event, 43.2% agreed menstruation to be a Bothersome event and 66.45% perceived menstruation as a natural event. Although 51.4% of females reported having not taken leave during menstruation, a substantial majority (89.1%) believed women should be entitled to menstrual leaves. The debilitating and bothersome aspects of menstruation contributed to women taking leave during menstruation, with the debilitating nature of menstruation being associated with supporting the provision of menstrual leaves. There was a positive association between having taken leave during menstruation and supporting the provision of menstrual leaves.
Conclusions: The findings indicate that perception of menstruation as debilitating and bothersome event strongly influence the support for the provision of menstrual leaves. This advocates the need for policies that are both evidence based and empathetic.
References
Srinivasan S, Rawat S, Yadav K. The Relationship Between Premenstrual Syndrome and Menstrual Attitude: Women's Life Quality in Deharadun City. InGlobal Insights on Women Empowerment and Leadership. IGI Global Scientific Publishing. 2024: 217-258.
Parkinson J, Courtney R, Edwards B. Advancing women’s health equity and empowerment: exploring period poverty and menstrual hygiene. Health Market Quart. 2024;41(3):241-8.
Woods NF, Most A, Dery GK. Prevalene of perimenstrual symptoms. Am J Public Health. 1982;72(11):1257-64.
Olson MM, Alhelou N, Kavattur PS, Rountree L, Winkler IT. The Persistent Power of stigma: a Critical Review of Policy Initiatives to Break the Menstrual Silence and Advance Menstrual Literacy.. PLOS Global Publ Health. 2022;2(7):325.
Pachankis JE, Hatzenbuehler ML, Wang K. The Burden of Stigma on Health and Well-Being: A Taxonomy of Concealment, Course, Disruptiveness, Aesthetics, Origin and Peril Across 93 Stigmas. Personal Soc Psychol. 2018;44(4):451–74.
Kundu B. The Need and Legal Perspective of the Menstrual Leave in India. Indian J Integrated Rsch. 2023;3:1.
Gopika AV, George S, Rose BM, Olickal JJ, Thankappan KR. Attitude towards menstruation, prevalence of premenstrual syndrome and coping mechanisms among adolescent girls in Kerala, India: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Public Health. 2025;3:2281.
Larki M, Elham A. "The Relationship Between Menstrual Patterns and Menstrual Attitude Dimensions among Women of Reproductive Age," Sultan Qaboos University Medical J. 2022;22:241-6.
Wu MJ, Zhao K, Fils-Aime F. Response Rates of Online Surveys in Published research: a meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior Reports. 2022;7(2):1–11.
Kawata R, Endo M, Rai SK, Ohashi K. Development of a scale to evaluate negative menstrual attitudes among Nepalese women. Reprod Health. 2022;16;19(1):76.
Brooks-Gunn J, Ruble DN. The Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire. Psycho Med. 1980;42(5):503–12.
Kvalem IL, Dahr Nygaard IM, Træen B, Ivanova A, Dahlgren CL. Menstrual attitudes in adult women: A cross-sectional study on the association with menstruation factors, contraceptive use, genital self-image and sexual openness. Women Health (Lond). 2024;20:1742553.
Chen CX, Kwekkeboom KL, Ward SE. Beliefs about dysmenorrhea and their relationship to self-management. Research in Nursing & Health. 2016;39(4):268–276.
George N, Mahendran P, Kulothungan K. Mindsets and menses: decoding young women’s attitudes towards menstrual leave – an observational study from South India. BMJ Open, 15(9), e096425.
Vashisht A, Pathak R, Agarwalla R, Patavegar BN, Panda M. School absenteeism during menstruation amongst adolescent girls in Delhi, India. J Family Community Med. 2018;25(3):163-8.
Bobel C, Winkler IT, Fahs B, Hasson KA, Kissling EA, Roberts TA. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies. Singapore: Springer. 2020.
Wood JM. Visible bleeding: the menstrual concealment imperative. The Palgrave handbook of critical menstruation studies. 2020:319-36.
Levitt RB, Barnack-Tavlaris JL. Addressing menstruation in the workplace: the menstrual leave debate. The Palgrave handbook of critical menstruation studies. 2020:561-75.
Yoshino O, Takahashi N, Suzukamo Y. Menstrual symptoms, health-related quality of life and work productivity in Japanese women with dysmenorrhea receiving different treatments: Prospective observational study. Adv Ther. 2022;39:2562–77.
Munro AK, Keep M, Hunter EC, Hossain SZ. Confidence to manage menstruation among university students in Australia: Evidence from a cross-sectional survey. Women’s Health. 2022;18:17706.
Petkar P, Shrivastava S. Cycle support: embracing menstrual equity in workplace. J Scient Soc. 2025;52(3):308-10.
Ghiasi A, Keramat A, Mollaahmadi L. The Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Menstruation and Perimenstrual Symptoms Among Female Students of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Northeast Iran. Shiraz E-Medical J. 2018;2;19(8):763.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
