A study on perception and practice of menstruation among school going adolescent girls in district Ambala Haryana, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20160931Keywords:
Menstruation, Adolescent girls, Rural schoolAbstract
Background: Adolescence is a highly dynamic period characterized by rapid growth and development. Adolescent girls have limited knowledge about menstruation and its hygiene, this study will be carried out among the school going adolescents in rural and urban area of Ambala district with the following aims and objectives, Status of knowledge of school going adolescent girls about menstruation and their practice during menstruation.
Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Ambala district Haryana, sample were taken by multi-stage random sampling during June to December 2015. A total 400 adolescents were taken from class 9th to 12th from four Secondary schools two from urban and two from rural school. Data were collected by interview method with the help of a pre-tested predesigned semi structures questionnaire.
Results: Mean age of adolescent girls was 15.26±1.61 years. 95% of adolescent’s attained menarche at the time of interview; Mean age of menarche in the study subjects was 12.21±1.70 year. 51.2% girls had negative reactions to menarche like scared, upset/guilt discomfort etc. Common problem reported by adolescents girls were abdominal pain 77.6%, approx. 9.7% adolescent girls did not practice any restriction during menstruation. Most common restriction were restricted from physical activities and visit religious place, mother was the main sources of knowledge regarding menstruation. Majority of girls had not heard about menstruation at the time of menarche (55.7%) while 65.3% were afraid after first menstruation.
Conclusion: Low level of knowledge about menstruation, poor menstrual hygiene was found in our study. There is a different type of misconception, myths, restriction and lack of menstruation related knowledge. Education regarding menstruation reproductive health with more focus on menstrual hygiene should be made a part of school curriculum.
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