Menstrual Hygiene Practices, Social Taboo Section and Attitude towards it- A Community-based Cross-sectional Study among Young Women in a Rural Area of West Bengal, India

Introduction: In developing countries like India, awareness about menstrual hygiene is limited among women leading to stigma, restriction of social activities and various menstrual and urogenital ill-health among women.

Aim: To find out the menstrual hygiene practices, social taboos and attitude towards it among 15-24 years aged women of a rural area of West Bengal, India.

Materials and Methods: This observational descriptive study with cross-sectional design was conducted during September-December 2019, among 110 young women in the age group of 15-24 year residing in Amdanga community development block. Multistage sampling technique was adopted and data was collected by interviewing study subjects with a predesigned, pretested and semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analysed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 20.0). Proportion and Chi-square test were applied where applicable. The p-value <0.05 was taken as significant.

Results: Nearly 80% of the study subjects used only sanitary napkins. Disposal of used pads under the soil was most common practice. Restrictions to social activities like taking part in religious activity, going outdoor, kitchen and household work were reported by 100%, 85.45%, 58.18% and 74.54% participants, respectively. A 64% of study subjects were unaware of menstruation before menarche. Statistically significant association was observed between socio-economic condition and number of sanitary pad use, (p<0.0001) and school absenteeism, (p=0.011634). Education above primary level was positively associated (p<0.00001) with awareness about menstruation before menarche.

Conclusion: The study conveyed that wide spread social stigma, restrictions and poor attitude still exists in this rural community about menstruation which is affecting safe disposal of used absorbents and overall health of women.