Menstruation is a normal physiological process, which marks the beginning of reproductive life in a woman. Unfortunately, this is not a topic open to discussion in our rural population. They consider it inconvenient and embarrassing. Our villages are traditional and cultural restrictions prevent the correct flow of information to the young women. Illiteracy is also a major cause for this ignorance. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and beliefs regarding menstruation among adolescent girls in rural area of Chunampet Tamil Nadu.
Methodology: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among the adolescent school going girls of Chunampet, Chheyur Taluk, Kancheepuram district,Tamilnadu.The study was done in two schools at Illedu and Venangupattu villages which had strength of 1100, 1200 students respectively. Girls who attained menarche and those who were willing to take part were included in the study(300).Girls those who were not willing were excluded from the study. All the study participants were interviewed by interns and postgraduate using a pre-tested and validated questionnaire in local Tamil language under supervision of faculties. For standardization of the data collected, all the interns and postgraduates were trained by investigators prior to the initiation of the study. The questionnaire was pretested and modified accordingly. The study variables included knowledge,beliefs, restrictions, practices during menstruation.
Data was entered in Microsoft Excel sheet and analyzed in SPSS version 16.
Majority of the respondents thought that menstrual blood is impure (51.6%), while 29.6% did not have any idea about it. Only 22.7% knew that excessive bleeding leads to anaemia. 91.4% of girls said that menstruation is physiological.36.8% knew that the hormones involved in menstruation are progesterone and oestrogen. Majority of the respondents (72.6%) were unaware that the source of bleeding is the uterus.
Knowledge and practices regarding menstruation in the adolescent girls belonging to the rural areas in and around Chunampet village is inadequate. Hence we need to bring about awareness, to provide emotional support, to dispel superstitions, taboos, socio-cultural restrictions, as well as to prevent RTIs.
Adolescence, Attitude, Knowledge, Menstruation, Practices, Rural Area
