This document discusses menstrual hygiene and health issues. It defines menstrual hygiene as maintaining cleanliness during menstruation through appropriate materials and facilities. Common issues include irregular periods, pain, and heavy bleeding. Some cultures impose restrictions on women during menstruation. Lack of education and privacy can also be barriers. A variety of sanitary protection materials are available but have advantages and disadvantages. Proper hygiene practices are important for health while improper practices can increase infection risk. Promoting good menstrual hygiene management has benefits like improved education and empowerment for women and girls.

1. Dr Dhwani Desai
Associate Professor & Unit head
Obs & Gynec Dept.
NCHS

5.  Menarche: 11-16 years. average 13 years.
 Duration: 2-7 days (<2 days is hypomenorrheaand
• >7 days is menorrhagia ).
 Amount: 30-80 ml., uses 3 napkins per day,
(>80 ml. is menorrhagia and < 30 ml., is
hypomenorrhea.
Characteristics of normal menstruation

8. COMMON MENSTRUAL HEALTH
ISSUES
1. Primary amenorrhoea
2. Irregular menstruation
3. Dysmenorrhoea
4. Menorrhagia
5. DUB
6. Hygienic issues

13. Harmful restrictions
In some cultures, women and girls are told that
• During their menstrual cycle they should not bathe
(or they will become infertile)
• Touch a cow (or it will become infertile)
• Look in a mirror (or it will lose its brightness)
• Touch a plant (or it will die)
13
Young women chatting about menstrual issues.Source: UNICEF
(2008)

14. 14
Restrictions on girls during their menstrual period in Afghanistan, India, Iran and Nepal. Source: (HOUSE et al. 2012).

15. Parental Education
Education by parents about reproductive
health, sexuality and related issues is often a
no-go area leading to a low knowledge and
understanding on these issue
15
Source: http://phil2100dsu12a.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/abortion-the-solution-is-viability/ [Accessed: 07.08.2013]

16. What is Menstrual Hygiene?
Menstrual hygiene is defined as
the principle of maintaining
cleanliness of the body during
menstrual flow. It requires basic
facilities such as appropriate
clothes, soakage material, water,
soap, and toilet facilities with
privacy.

21. Sanitary protection materials –
advantages/disadvantages
21
Sanitary protection
option
Advantages Disadvantages
Natural materials (e.g.
mud, cow dung, leaves)
 Free
 Locally available
 High risk of contamination
 Difficult and uncomfortable to use
Strips of clothes  Easily available in the
local market
 Re-usable
 If old cloths are not cleaned well they
can become unhygienic.
 Users need somewhere private, with a
water supply and soap, to wash and dry
the cloths.
Toilet paper or tissues  Easily available in the
local market
 Loses strength when wet and can fall
apart.
• Difficult to hold in place.
• May be too expensive for the poorest
users
Re-usable pads  Available locally or on the
internet
 Income generation
opportunity, if locally
made
 Cost effective as are re-
usable
 More environmentally-
friendly than disposable
pads
 Users need somewhere private, with a
water
 supply and soap, to wash and dry the
pads.
 Cost is prohibitive to many potential
users, if commercially produced
Source: HOUSE ET AL. (2012)

22. Sanitary protection materials –
advantages/disadvantages
22
Sanitary protection
option
Advantages Disadvantages
Tampons  Convenient and comfortable
to use
 Not available in many contexts.
 Cost is prohibitive to any potential users.
 Generates a lot of waste to dispose, not
environmentally-friendly.
 May not be culturally appropriate,
particularly for adolescent girls, as need
to be inserted into the vagina.
 Hygiene and availability of water and soap
for hand-washing are particularly
important, as need to be inserted into the
vagina.
Menstrual cups  Re-usable
 Only need emptying, washing
and drying
 May not be culturally appropriate for use,
particularly for adolescent girls, as need
to be inserted into the vagina.
 Hygiene and availability of water and soap
are particularly important, for washing
hands and menstrual cup, as need to be
inserted into the vagina.
 Expensive first investment outlay.
Panties/ Underwear  Useful for keeping a sanitary
product in place.
• Good for keeping the vaginal
area hygienic.
 Cost may be prohibitive to potential users.
 Cheap elastic can wear out relatively
quickly.
Source: HOUSE ET AL. (2012)

23. Awareness Raising
• Promoting good practices for Menstrual Hygiene Management:
 How to capture the blood
 How to dispose of the cloth, pad, cotton
 How to keep yourself clean during the period
 How to manage the stomach pain from your period
• Community-wide approaches that include boys and men (Physical
barriers are often connected to social barriers. Social barriers
have to be overcome!)
• Integrate Menstrual Hygiene Management into a wider hygiene
promotion approach on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene including
risks and good practices

25. Inappropriate hygiene practices
• Unclean sanitary pad materials (local infections/bacteria
can travel up the vagina and enter uterine cavity)
• Changing pads infrequently (skin irritation by wet pads)
• Insertion of unclean material into vagina (easier infection ,
also of uterine cavity)
• Using highly absorbent tampons during light blood loss or no
menstruation (toxic shock syndrome, vaginal irritation)
• Wiping from back to front following urination or defecation
(bacteria can travel easier into vagina)

26. • Unprotected sex (increased risk of sexually
transmitted diseases)
• Unsafe disposal of used sanitary materials or blood
(risk of infecting others with diseases)
• Frequent douching (forcing liquid into vagina can
introduce bacteria into uterine cavity)
• Lack of hand-washing after changing a sanitary
towel (can spread infections)

27. Impact of proper menstrual hygiene
Promoting menstrual hygiene
management (MHM) is not only a
sanitation matter; it is also an
important step towards
safeguarding the dignity, bodily
integrity and overall life
opportunities of women and girls.

29. Educating girls about menstruation
helps increase self esteem, raise
grades and raise wages.
 It allows girls to be prepared for
their first period.
 Access to menstrual hygiene
products keeps girls on the same
track as their male peers.
 Girls staying in school longer
contributes to the economic
empowerment of not only the
woman, but also to the family,
community and nation.

31. Where do we go from here?
• Have we understood the concept of Menstrual
Hygiene?
• Do we now know how we can Practice Menstrual
Hygiene?
• Are we now willing to advocate against
menstruation stigma?

36. Any Question???
Any Worries???
Any Suggestions???

37. THANK YOU..