Menstrual Hygiene Management among Young Unmarried Women in India
Abstract
Menstruation among women is an integral part and a natural process that starts with menarche and stops at menopause. Women use sanitary pad, clothes and other methods to prevent blood stains from becoming evident. This paper examines the prevalence and discrepancies in the use of hygienic method during menstruation among unmarried women in India using nationally representative District Level Household and Facility Survey data (2007-08). The findings suggest that only one-third of the studied population used hygienic method during menstruation. Rural-urban and poor-non poor disparity persists across all background characteristics in use of hygienic method. Women with high school and above education (OR=8.8, p<0.001), from richest wealth quintile (OR=5.2, p<0.001) and women following Christian religion (OR=3.6, p<0.001) are more likely to use hygienic method as compared with women with no education, poor household and Hindu women respectively. Locally prepared low cost sanitary pads can be promoted across the country for easy accessibility and affordability. Effort should be made to produce them in bulk and supply them through female health workers such as ANM and Anganwadi worker across the country.
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