Journal de médecine générale

Knowledge and Practice of Adolescent Females about Menstruation in Baghdad

Abstract

Mayasah A Sadiq and Alaa A Salih

Background: Menstruation is the periodic and cyclical discharge of blood, mucus and cellular debris from the uterine mucosa, which occurs due to progesterone withdrawal after ovulation in non-fertile cycles. Menstruation and menstrual practices are still clouded by taboos and socio-cultural restrictions resulting in adolescent girls remaining ignorant of the scientific facts and hygienic health practices, which sometimes result into adverse health outcomes. Aim: To determine the level of knowledge of adolescent females about menstrual cycle and their practice and restrictions during menstruation. Subjects and method: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to involve 1084 female students aged 15-21 years in Baghdad from 10 randomly selected secondary schools in different districts of Baghdad during the period April the 10th through May using direct interview questionnaire, each student was interviewed separately & privately, scoring for knowledge was calculated using Excel, and knowledge was classified as good or poor. Results: Good knowledge had been seen in 36% of them, as the mothers formed the major source of knowledge (74%), Food quantity or quality during menstruation was not changed in 38%, while 21% of girls consume fruit & vegetables during menstruation. 84.2% of the girls restrict their physical activity while menstruating. 22.6% of the girls did not take a bath during menstruation at all while 13.3% took bath after the 1st day. Analgesics were used without prescription in 54% of the girls during menstruation, 14% required medical help for various menstrual causes and Absenteeism from school from 23.6% from total. Conclusion: The knowledge regarding menstruation was poor in the majority of the girls, and mothers were their major source of information, certain practices were restricted during menstruation such as bathing and physical activity and absenteeism from school was considerable.