Menstruation is a phenomenon unique to females. Adolescent girls constitute a vulnerable group, particularly in India where female child is a neglected one.
Menstruation and menstrual practices, still clouded by taboos and socio-cultural restrictions, is regarded as something unclean or dirty in our Indian society, resulting in adolescent girls remaining ignorant of the scientific facts and hygienic health practices. Improper menstrual hygiene may result in reproductive tract infections, which is a steadily rising silent epidemic at present.
We are taking a small initiative, amid this COVID lockdown, and have joined hands with 3 schools.
We will be educating our adolescents on the facts of menstruation, physiological implications, about the significance of menstruation and development of secondary sexual characteristics, and above all, about proper hygienic practices with selection of disposable sanitary menstrual absorbent.
It is very sad to observe that quite a few of the girls do not know about the source of menstrual bleeding and are ignorant about the use of sanitary pads during menstruation.
The manner in which a girl learns about menstruation and its associated changes may have an impact on her response to the event of menarche. Most female children learn about menstruation from their mother. We, as healthcare professionals, want to extend their knowledge and update them about the newer, eco-friendly options and also impart facts about do’s and dont’s, and the consequences of poor hygiene.
We believe that big changes are the result of hundreds of tiny steps and they all count!
This is our tiny step for MHDay.