Menstrual Practices and Hygiene among Adolescent: A Cross- sectional study in urban area of Garhwal, Uttarakhand

The onset of menstruation is one of the most important changes occurringamong the girls during the adolescent years. in adolescent girls remaining ignorant of the scientific facts and hygienic health practices, which sometimes result into adverse health outcomes. This study was conducted to find out the status of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls . It also assessed the knowledge and source of information on menstrual health .A cross-sectional study was carried out among the adolescent girls of Mohalaa under the catchment area of urban health center of Community Medicine Department of VCSGGMS and RI Srinagar. Total 400 consecutive households were included and one a respondent from each household was interviewed using a pre-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS software Results showed that , friends were the first informant only in case of 196 (46.75%) girls and it is followed by Mother(26.8%).51.4% girls used sanitary pads during menstruation, 21.8% girls used old cloth pieces and 26.7% girls used new cloth pieces. Only 27.3% girls believed it as a physiological process.It may be concluded that menstrual hygiene, a very important risk factor for reproductive tract infections, is a vital aspect of health education for adolescent girls. , there is an urgent need for intensifying effective strategies to persuade the adolescentgirls to adopt healthy menstrual practices