Current status of Awareness Level of School going Adolescent girls on Menstrual Hygiene in Varanasi District

Abstract

The transition period between the childhood and adulthood is called adolescence which is marked with the growth and development of the child. Globally, adolescent girls constitute about 1/5th of total female population. Unfortunately, due to lack of knowledge on menstruation preparedness and management or due to shyness and embarrassment the situation becomes worse for girls. Menstruation is a natural process but it is still a taboo in Indian society as it is considered unclean and dirty. In the existing Indian cultural milieu, there are several traditions, myths, misconceptions, mystery and superstition prevailing about menstruation. The main objective of this study is to assess the awareness level of school going adolescent girls about menstrual hygiene and issues related to reproductive health. This was a school-based cross-sectional study, which was conducted in four schools of Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh state. The study was conducted in Kashi-Vidyapeeth block of Varanasi district. It was conducted in four schools (Two from urban area and two from rural area) of the district. Durga Inter-College, Bulai, Lahartara and Saraswati Inter-college, Chandpur was selected from rural area and Government Girls Inter College, Sigra and Central Hindu School, Gurubagh was selected from the urban area. Only 34.3% of respondents were aware about reproductive parts and 37.2% of respondents were aware about menarche before attaining it. In the present study it was observed that about one – third (30.8%) of respondents used homemade clothes during menstruation, whereas rest of them used sanitary pads.