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 crosssectional
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.