Menstrual hygiene practices and treatment seeking behaviour for menstrual problems among unmarried girls in ut, chandigarh

Menstruation is a physiological phenomenon unique to females that begins in adolescence. It is an important part of the female reproductive cycle. Although menstruation is a natural process, it is linked with several misconceptions and ignorance practices among young girls, which sometimes results into adverse reproductive health outcomes and may adversely affect their daily routine and quality of life. To explore the knowledge of menstrual hygiene practice and treatment seeking behavior for menstrual problems among unmarried girls, a community based cross-sectional study was conducted during April 08 to March 09 in Rural, Urban and Slum strata of UT Chandigarh. Methods And Materials-Stratified Multistage Random Sampling Design with probability proportional to size (PPS) was adopted and 744 respondents were selected. House-to-house surveys were conducted to collect the desired information by personal interview method. Results-The study showed maximum number of respondents (36%) attained menarche between 13-14 years of age. Branded napkins were found to be used by maximum number of respondents349 (46.9%). Abdominal pain was found to be the most common problem related to menstruation suffered by 429 (57.7%) respondents. Shyness was reported to be the main reason for not reporting to doctors for treatment by 58.8% of respondents. Conclusion-There is a need to impart health education to girls for clearing up their misconceptions and be offered them possible treatment options. Screening programs for menstrual related problems should be started at school level under School Health Programme.