Menstrual hygiene and Associated Factors among Adolescent Girls

Abstract

It is known fact that women are the creators who give birth to next generation. Hence, the woman who preserves humankind must be preserved. Women are most precious that they must be safeguarded. In the life of women, menstruation is the process through which women brings new life on to earth. During this process she needs to manage hygiene to protect her health. This process starts from adolescent age, WHO defines adolescence as the period of life between 10-19 years. During this period of women’s life she finds prominent physical and invisible biological changes, which leads to confusion, anxiety, disturbance, and feeling of insecurity. Adolescence is a prime time for health promotion and to encourage them to establish healthy patterns of behavior that will influence their development and health in later years. Many serious diseases in adulthood have their roots in adolescence.

Women and girls all over the world are facing numerous challenges in managing their menstruation, which should be a straightforward issue of privacy and health. Pads and other supplies may be unavailable or unaffordable, they may lack access to safe toilet facilities with clean water where they can clean themselves in privacy and they face discriminatory cultural norms or practices that make it difficult to maintain good menstrual hygiene. Together, these challenges may result in women and girls being denied basic human rights.

Poor menstrual hygiene caused by a lack of education on the issue, continued taboos and stigma, inadequate access to hygienic menstrual products and poor sanitation infrastructure undermines the educational opportunities, health and overall social status of women and girls around the world. As a result, millions of women and girls are kept from reaching their full potential.