A Study on Socio-Cultural Practices during Menstruation among Adolescent Girls of Jabalpur District

Background -Adolescence is defined by United Nations as the period of life from age 10 to 19 years Adolescents girls attain menarche during this phase. There are many socio cultural taboos practised during menstruation. Objective- To assess the socio cultural practices by adolescent girls during menstruation in rural and urban areas of Jabalpur district. Materials and Methods- A cross sectional study was conducted in rural and urban areas of Jabalpur district. 400 adolescent girls (200 rural and 200 urban) were randomly selected as study subjects. A predesigned questionnaire was used. Results- In our study average age of menarche in adolescent girls was 13.41 ± 1.015 years with the range of 10-16 years.. The social changes perceived by the adolescent girls after onset of menarche were mother becoming more strict, cessation of cooking, cessation of schooling, initiation of talk about marriage etc. Conclusion- Onset of menarche had imposed various restrictions on adolescent girls even within the household. This difference was probably due to the lack of awareness and due to the association of more stigmas with menstruation in the rural areas as compared to the urban areas.