A Cross-Sectional Study on Menstrual Hygiene Practice Amongst Women

Abstract

Poor Menstrual hygiene destructively affects the lives of women and girls who are in their reproductive age. The Myth still lies under
menstruation and is being practiced in most of the rural areas. Even now girls feel too shy to share about their menarche with their family
members because of this they have to suffer from various health-related issues. Lack of awareness and resources is still a major problem
for girls in various parts of the world. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the practices of menstrual hygiene amongst women aged
12-40 years in the rural region of District Lucknow. A cross-sectional study was designed and consecutive samplings were applied to
recruit 82 participants from rural areas of Lucknow. A questionnaire was used to collect the data and Microsoft Excel was used for its
analysis.
The study demonstrates that 30.67% of respondents were not getting their periods at regular intervals of time. 32.73% of the respondents
complained of abdominal pain, and 23.03% of them complained of body aches during their menstruation. Also, 15.15% complained of
weakness and 13.94% of cramps respectively. The majority 81.71% of the respondents were not aware of the problems earlier during
menstruation. The study also revealed that the majority 49.54% of the respondents prefer to use cloth during their periods and 48.62%
prefer to use pads over other things. This study reveals the majority of respondents were not aware of the intimate hygiene practice and the
majority had no knowledge about the problems before their menstruation. Preferences of material between cloth and pad during their
menstruation were almost similar.