This presentation was the basis of a talk given at St. Ursula School in Pune on Menstrual Hygiene Management to an audience of 9th and 10th grade students.

1. Menstruation
Health,
Hygiene and
Happy Women
Poonam Relwani

2. Flow
★ Past and Present
★ A quick look at the numbers
★ Menstrual Awareness
★ Types of menstrual hygiene options available
★ Use of the right tools
★ Busting the myths - SHE is important
★ Busting the stigma - HE is important
★ Hygiene - For yourself
★ Hygiene - For the environment
★ Hygiene - For a peaceful mind

3. About Me
Poonam Relwani
Head Corporate Communication
Sears Holdings India
For
Samaira Foundation

4. “Those Days”

5. That Era
Those Days
“Periods” / menstrual cycle - would
be looked down upon with shame
Lot of secrecy around the topic
Men from Mythology to Modern
India have tried to keep woman
weak by citing “impurity” due to
“periods”.
Menstruating women were isolated
and made to sit in one place without
touching anything - lest it become
“impure”

6. This Era
Those Days
Today, even the sanitary napkins
are advertised openly. They don’t
use the word “un dino” any more!
Today, tampons, sanitary napkins,
pads, periods, puberty, etc. are
topics that have been brought out
of the closet.
Girls / Women are quite
comfortable discussing about them.
However, awareness is missing.

7. 28th May
International Menstrual Hygiene Day

8. Why the talk is
necessary mandatory

9. Isn’t this a ‘women’s
only’ topic?

11. 70%Of all reproductive diseases in women are caused by poor menstrual hygiene
1,50,000
Of all reproductive diseases in women are caused by poor menstrual hygiene

12. What does poor menstrual
hygiene mean?
Let’s decode it

13. Depends on several factors:
- Economical conditions
- Culture and thought process of a community
- Individual upbringing (education by parents)
- Access to /availability of hygiene
management
43%
of women in
India have no
access to
sanitary pads
45%
of women
surveyed
accepted that
menstruation is
still considered
taboo in India
Poor menstrual hygiene questions
- Do I know what is menstruation?
- My menstruation just started this year - am I comfortable with my body?
- What am I using for absorbing the menstrual fluid?
- How do I dispose of the used pad/cloth?
- How many times do I change the pad/cloth?
- How many times do I wash myself?
- How do I buy pads (if at all)?

14. Combating menstrual hygiene issues

15. Talk + Support + Celebrate
The three-step formula

16. Talk about it
- RED is good (It’s not blue)
- Proudto be a woman
- Body’s naturalcapability to reproduce
- As natural as taking a restroom break
- This is nature’s call too
- Nothing to be ashamed about
- Knowyour body
- Understand the Pre Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)

17. Learn
I, ME, MYSELF
- Understand your body’s cycle
- Record / use a Period
Calendar
- Keep a spare napkin/tampom
with you always
- Manage PMS by being aware
of its symptoms and their
occurence
- TALK, TALK, TALK
- Share your problems and
seek support
The Tools
- What to use?
- Sanitary Napkins
- Cloth Pads
- Tampons
- Menstrual Cup
- How to use?
- When to change?
- Cleaning and bathing
- Pain management
- PMS symptom
management
My Period, My Choice
- Asha is an athlete and
finds tampons to be the
best option for menstrual
hygiene
- Priya is very concerned
about the harmful effects
of plastic on the earth.
She has chosen
menstrual cup for
managing her periods

18. Educate
- Do your bit to help girls around you
- Spread the cheer, the pride and the awareness
- Pull those in the dark into the sunshine
- It’s no more TABOO

19. Support
- Schools, colleges,
workplaces, offices
must provide pads
through dispensing
systems and disposal
mechanisms
Institutions Policy Men
- Governments should
include tax rebates
for menstrual
hygiene products
- Governments should
make provision for
safe disposal of
menstrual waste
- Men should also
receive education on
the physical,
biological and mental
changes of the
opposite gender

20. As a man, how can I support?
- Learn about what a woman goes through
during her period
- Physical pain
- Psychological stress
- Shame
- Fear of spotting
- Understand PMS and learn to recognize in
women
- Headaches
- Mood swings
- Stomach pain
- Irritability
- Nausea and Vertigo
- Read up on what other men have done to
support women in this area
- Arunachalam Muruganantham
- Anurag Chauhan
- Amol Prakash Mane
Learn Support Show pride
- Do not ridicule / make fun
of girls on this subject
- Show support and
solidarity
- Be helpful and kind
- Respect when she needs
space
- Upkeep of her dignity is
your most important
support
- For a girl, going through the process of
puberty is as difficult as it is for a boy. You
have been through it all too, haven’t you?
- Show pride in her journey from being a girl
to becoming a woman
- Identify the feelings of taboo, shame etc
around you - does your sister hide her
sanitary napkins around you? Just one
sentence, “It is okay” can do wonders.
- Promote hygienic options with your kith
and kin
- Discourage negativity among other men
around you

21. Celebrate
- 28th May
- World Menstrual
Hygiene Day
- Talk about it
- Blog about it
- Group discussions
- Outreach
- Break taboos
- Break the stigma
- Each individual’s
views upgraded
becomes your
success
Popular hashtags:
#menstruationmatters
#stopthestigma
#nomoretaboo
#periodtalk
#nomorelimits

22. Sustainable Menstruation
Promoting health for the woman and the earth
Non-biodegradable
pads take
500 years
to decompose
Non-biodegradable
pads contain
cancer-causing
DIOXINS
1 woman generates
175 kgs of
menstrual waste in
her menstruating
lifetime

23. Sustainable Menstrual Hygiene Options
- Made of corn starch, bamboo and/or
natural fiber
- Starts decomposing in 6 months
- Looks and feels exactly like a regular
sanitary napkin
Natural Pads Menstrual Cups Cloth
- Made of silicon
- Can be used for up to 10 years
- Economical and safe
- Leak proof
- Hygienic
- No solid waste
- Holds up to 40 ml of liquid
- No odour issues
- In today’s modern age, it’s easier to use
cloth pads and period panties made
specifically for the purpose.
- With washing machines and easier ways to
maintain hygiene, one can consider going
back to the older days of using cloth -
albeit with a makeover

24. Menstrual Waste Disposal
Do not use plastic to wrap your used pads - consider waste newspaper
Do not burn used pads
Do not discard with other waste
Use separate bins meant only for menstrual waste and discard separately
Best of all:
Switch over to the best natural menstrual hygiene option - the menstrual Cup