Menstrual knowledge and practices of female adolescents in urban Karachi, Pakistan
Abstract
Menstruation is a normal physiological process that is managed differently according to various social and cultural understandings. Therefore, this cross‐sectional study was conducted to explore the menstrual practices among 1275 female adolescents of urban Karachi, Pakistan from April to October 2006 by using interviews. Data was entered and analyzed in Epi Info Version 9 and SPSS Version 10. Descriptive findings showed that 50% of the girls lacked an understanding of the origin of menstrual blood and those with a prior knowledge of menarche had gained it primarily through conversations with their mothers. Many reported having fear at the first experience of bleeding. Nearly 50% of the participants reported that they did not take baths during menstruation. In univariate analysis, factors of using unhygienic material, using washcloths, and not drying under sun were found to be significant in the Chi square test among those going and not going to schools. This study concludes that there are unhygienic practices and misconceptions among girls requiring action by health care professionals.
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Adolescent girls have been found across a range of countries to lack knowledge of the physiology and management of menstrual bleeding.
“Adolescent girls have been found across a range of countries to lack knowledge of the physiology and management of menstrual bleeding.[5,13,26]”
Girls are often uninformed and unsure about what is happening to their bodies when they reach menarche, causing fear and confusion.
“Girls are often uninformed and unsure about what is happening to their bodies when they reach menarche, causing fear and confusion [8, 9].”
From Physical, social, and political inequities constraining girls’ menstrual management at schools in informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya. (2017) · cites this paper as [9]
In contrast to some past studies, most girls in this study were aware of menstruation prior to menarche.
“In contrast to some past studies (e.g., [3, 16, 23]), we found that most girls were aware of menstruation prior to menarche.”
From A qualitative understanding of the effects of reusable sanitary pads and puberty education: Implications for future research and practice (2017) · cites this paper as [23]
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“Adolescent girls have been found across a range of countries to lack knowledge of the physiology and management of menstrual bleeding.[5,13,26] Ali and Rizvi [13] reported that in Pakistan, less than 50% of girls surveyed received information about menstruation prior to menarche, only 15% information about management.”
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- Authors
- Ali, T. S., & Rizvi, S. N.
- Affiliations
- Aga Khan University (PK)
- Corresponding author
- Ali, Tazeen Saeed
- Venue
- Journal of Adolescence
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2009-07-08
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 531-541
- ISSN
- 0140-1971 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9254
- OpenAlex
- W2069296186
- Cited by
- 187
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 6.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Adolescence (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- eCommons - AKU (Aga Khan University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Menstrual Health and Disorders
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Keywords
- menstruation, menstrual knowledge, menstrual practices, adolescent girls, menarche, menstrual hygiene, school attendance, maternal influence
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Hygiene, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Menstruation, Pakistan, Urban Population, Menstrual Hygiene Products
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