Menarche and Menstruation in Rural Adolescent Girls in Maharashtra, India: A Qualitative Study
Abstract
Background: Menarche and menstrual experiences play a critical role in adolescent girls’ life. These not only significantly influence their sexual and reproductive health but also possess much social and educational impact. This study qualitatively explores the perceptions, practices and experiences related to menarche and menstruation among rural Indian adolescent girls which has been less studied in the past literature. Methods: A convenience sampling method was used to select 32 adolescent girls (eight girls who did not reach menarche and 24 girls who attained menarche) from rural Maharashtra in India. Information about the perceptions, practices and experiences of menarche and menstruation among the participants was obtained through focus group discussions and was analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings: Most of the participants, especially girls without menarche lacked adequate knowledge about menstruation and its processes. All communications regarding menstruation were between friends, whereas mothers were found to be playing a limited role. Some of the girls were using sanitary pads, while most girls still use old cloths. Financial concerns and difficulty in obtaining sanitary pads were major obstructions for their use. Lack of awareness and appropriate care for menstrual morbidities were reported among these girls, which put impact on their educational attainment. Conclusions: Suitable strategy needs to be developed for providing correct knowledge about menstruation among adolescent girls, such as inclusion of adolescent friendly services in school curriculum and training of mothers and teachers to provide friendly counselling to the girls. Further, menstrual pad vending machines could be installed in schools and colleges, for easy access of sanitary pads at subsidized rate. Special care and support during menstruation can prevent several adverse events from occurring in adolescent girls’ lives.
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Many authors stated that most of their study population had deficits in knowledge of menstrual biology.
“Many authors stated that most of their study population had deficits in knowledge of menstrual biology”
From Women’s and girls’ experiences of menstruation in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2019) · cites this paper as [37]
In many settings, menstrual blood-and by extension, menstruating women-were considered ritually impure or polluting.
“In many settings, menstrual blood—and by extension, menstruating women—were considered ritually impure or polluting”
From Women’s and girls’ experiences of menstruation in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2019) · cites this paper as [37]
Women and girls reported genital discomfort, irritation, rashes, and bruising during menses stemming from the properties of menstrual materials or inadequate frequency of change.
“Women and girls reported genital discomfort, irritation, rashes, and bruising during menses stemming from the properties of menstrual materials or inadequate frequency of change [9–11, 15, 37, 41, 44, 51, 56, 57, 68, 69, 72, 75].”
From Women’s and girls’ experiences of menstruation in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2019) · cites this paper as [37]
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“…2016 [72]; Rheinlander 2018 [81]; Schmitt 2017 [83]; Scorgie 2016 [84]; Sommer 2009 [3, 8, 87]; Sommer 2015 [88, 89] (n = 27) Al-Sabir 1998 [34]; Behera 2015 [37]; Caruso 2013 [41]; Castaneda 1996 [42]; Chothe 2014 [46]; Crawford 2014 [47]; da Silva Bretas 2011 [52]; Do Amaral 2011 [55]; Ellis…”
BackgroundInfluential
- Authors
- Behera, D., Sivakami, M., & Behera, M. R.
- Affiliations
- St Theresa International College (TH)
- Tata Institute of Social Sciences (IN)
- Mahidol University (TH)
- Corresponding author
- Behera, Deepanjali
- Venue
- Journal of Health Management
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-12
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 510-519
- ISSN
- 0972-0634 (ISSN-L)
- 0973-0729
- OpenAlex
- W2296213207
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Health Management (publishedVersion)
- 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
- menarche, menstruation, adolescent girls, rural Maharashtra, menstrual knowledge, sanitary pad use, menstrual stigma, maternal communication, educational attainment
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