Menstrual Hygiene Practices and its Management among Female Students

Author: Heena Qadir, Javid Ahmad Malik, Nazar Ul Islam and Khursheed Ahmad Wani

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Abstract

The objective of the present paper was to investigate the menstrual hygiene practices and its management among female Students in Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. A sample of 403 female students from different colleges was selected for the present study. An online questionnaire was circulated among the students with different subsections. The responses revealed that half of the students are aware about the menstruation and its management practices. Ignorance, misconceptions, unsafe practices, and illiteracy of the mother and child regarding menstruation are the root causes of many problems. The students have shifted from traditional to modern practices in managing menstrual blood. there is a need to intervene and educate the female students about menstruation hygiene in Degree Colleges of Jammu and Kashmir. It was revealed education will play a pivotal role.

Keywords

The objective of the present paper was to investigate the menstrual hygiene practices and its management among female Students in Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. A sample of 403 female students from different colleges was selected for the present study. An online questionnaire was circulated among the students with different subsections. The responses revealed that half of the students are aware about the menstruation and its management practices. Ignorance, misconceptions, unsafe practices, and illiteracy of the mother and child regarding menstruation are the root causes of many problems. The students have shifted from traditional to modern practices in managing menstrual blood. there is a need to intervene and educate the female students about menstruation hygiene in Degree Colleges of Jammu and Kashmir. It was revealed education will play a pivotal role. Menstruation, Sanitation, Hygiene, Awareness, Sanitary pads

Conclusion

1. All the girls have basic information about menstruation and believed it to be a physiological process. They believed that it is a normal process for women and if it will not happen, it means woman is abnormal. Most of the respondents have shared the first experience of menstruation either with sisters, or friends of mothers. No one has shared it with the male relatives or male friends. 2. Majority opined that the source of menstrual blood is uterus but a good number also said that the source is vagina. Majority of respondents have 28 days of duration of menstrual blood with bleeding phase of 3-7 days with foul odour for which they would often feel embarrassed. However, half of the respondents believed that menstrual blood is unhygienic and other half said it is not unhygienic. 3. None of the respondents has learned anything about the menstruation in college or in school. All the respondents hold the opinion that poor or good hygiene during menstruation has no relation with menstrual pain. Half of the respondents would share menstrual hygiene with close friends like what to eat and what not, how to reduce pain and whether to take a bath or not. 4. Those who were reluctant in sharing menstrual related issues with fathers had multiple opinions like it needs to be kept secret, fear factor, it is shameful. But fathers do take care of it and then few ignore or few get extra eatables for daughters during the days of periods. All the girls share this process with mothers. All the interviewees didn’t shared menstruation related things with teachers. But if the bleeding happened all of a sudden in the school or in college, then they would ask for sanitary pads to teachers. 5. All the respondents were using commercially made absorbent material/sanitary pads with popular brands like Wispher and Khatoon and soap and soap and water. Though they felt that those pads are very costly but we have to manage it. None of the respondents used reusable pads. Only three respondents reported that they would use cotton cloth in addition to commercially made sanitary pad just for the safety purpose and they will make it dry indoors in a private place. 6. Respondents were changing pads once or twice and thrice. But majority were in 2-3 times. Majority of the respondents would clean their genitals during menstruation using both soap and water. Only 4 respondents were using only water. No respondent was taking bath during menstruation believing that it will cause pain or negatively affect the reproductive health or it will make the bleeding intense or recur. After the menstruation is over all used to take a mandatory bath using soap and water that had ritual significance also to restore the purity? Half of the respondents used to dispose used sanitary pads in open pits available in the villages at public places usually after wrapping in polythene. Other half would put in dustbins after wrapping in polythene which is later thrown in some far off open field. 7. All the respondents were asking their fathers for money when they had to purchase sanitary pads but respondents would not let their fathers know that they have to purchase pads but would give some another excuse. Some respondents said that they would come to college during menstruation but majority would skip the school during first 2 days because of pain, heavy flow, no gender specific private toilets in college, afraid of staining and no proper disposal system. All the respondents reported that periods are painful especially the first 2 days.

References

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How to cite this article

Heena Qadir, Javid Ahmad Malik, Nazar Ul Islam and Khursheed Ahmad Wani (2023). Menstrual Hygiene Practices and its Management among Female Students. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(5): 793-799.