Title:
Menstruation
Subtitles:
1. Menstrual hygiene products
2. Religious constraints & myths
3. Physical and mental turmoil
Authors:
1. Dikshita Shah
2. Chanchal Sambare
3. Poonam Sharma
Introduction:
Menstruation is the monthly shedding of the lining of a woman’s uterus (more commonly known as the womb). Menstruation is also known by the term’s menses, menstrual period, cycle or period. During menstruation, women use different menstrual products to absorb menstrual blood and prevent outflow. There has been a growing attention towards menstruation and menstrual management. Menstrual products are often referred to as “feminine products”, “sanitary products” or “feminine hygiene”. A variety of eco-friendly menstrual products have been launched on the market like tampons, menstrual cups etc. Most of the people find sanitary pads more comfortable and convenient but some are switching their products based on their experiences. Different consumer groups have different demands in use, and most of them mainly require the prevention of outflow, comfort, and affordable sales price.
Objective:
To understand the underlying phenomena of menstrual hygiene products.
Literature Review:
Women’s understanding and attitude about menstrual products
Jui-Che Tu, et al. (2021) found out that with the growing awareness of sustainability, eco-friendly menstrual products, such as cloth menstrual pads, menstrual cups, and menstrual underpants, have been launched on the market. During menstruation, women use different menstrual products to absorb menstrual blood and prevent outflow. While menstrual pads and tampons account for the market majority of menstrual products. Still proper guidance of menstrual products should be given and their uses.
Menstrual hygiene management
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2571. (2021) stated that effective and adequate menstrual hygiene management requires women and girls to have access to their menstrual health materials and products of choice, but also extends into having private, clean and safe spaces for using these materials. Unequal wealth-related access to sanitary pads is driven by socio-economic indicators including less education and residing in a rural as compare to an urban environment.
Data Collection:
For data collection, we carried out a survey by circulating a Google form; wherein we asked the candidates to rate few statements between strongly disagree to strongly agree. The 7 statements that were shared in the Google form were:
1. I am comfortable using sanitary pads.
2. I tried menstrual cups and my experience was good.
3. I prefer tampons over any other hygiene products.
4. I feel discomfort in using menstrual cups.
5. I get rashes and irritation with the use of sanitary pads.
6. I feel shy or embarrassed while buying pads from medical.
7. My school gave education regarding menstrual hygiene products.
After collecting the date from 100 respondents, we arranged the responses according to the Likert’s scale and did some calculations to find out the average, standard deviation, standard error, and Z values.
Data Analysis:
At 95% confidence level, Z-value is 1.96.
Hypothesis:
1. If z value is greater than 1.96, accept H1 (positive).
2. If z value is between 1.96 to -1.96, accept H0 (neutral).
3. If z value is less than -1.96, accept H1 (negative).
The below table shows the calculated mean, SD, SE and z value of the collected data:
Questions Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7
Mean 0.2 1.39 1.5 1.13 0.56 -0.1 1.17
SD 1.20 0.82 0.65 1.15 1.08 1.13 0.71
SE 0.12 0.08 0.06 0.11 0.1 0.11 0.07
Z 1.65 16.79 22.76 9.81 5.15 -0.88 16.44
Thus, from above data we can say that:
1. For question 1, z value is 1.65 which is between 1.96 to -1.96, accept null hypothesis H0 (neutral).
2. For question 2, z value is 16.79 which is greater than 1.96, accept alternate hypothesis H1 (positive).
3. For question 3, z value is 22.76 which is greater than 1.96 accept alternate hypothesis H1 (positive).
4. For question 4, z value is 9.81 which is greater than 1.96, accept alternate hypothesis H1 (positive).
5. For question 5, z value is 5.15 which is greater than 1.96, accept alternate hypothesis H1 (positive).
6. For question 6, z value is -0.88 which is between 1.96 to -1.96, accept null hypothesis H0 (neutral).
7. For question 7, z value is 16.44 which is greater than 1.96, accept alternate hypothesis H1 (positive).
Conclusion:
1. Women are neutral towards the comfort of using sanitary pads.
2. Women are positive towards the experience of trying menstrual cups.
3. Women prefer tampons over any other hygiene products.
4. Women feel discomfort is using menstrual cups.
5. Women get rashes and irritation while using sanitary pads.
6. Women are neutral about feeling shy or embarrassed while buying pads from medical.
7. Women got education from school regarding menstrual hygiene products.
References:
Jui-Che Tu, Ting-Yun Lo, & Yi-Ting, L. (2021). Women’s cognition and attitude with eco-friendly menstrual products by consumer lifestyle. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(11), 5534. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115534
Understanding period poverty: Socio-economic inequalities in menstrual hygiene management in eight low- and middle-income countries. (2021). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2571. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052571