DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v05i08.067

Pages: 3343-3348

Menstruation is a vital part of the reproductive health of a woman. There is evident neglect of problems related to menstruation especially in young girls and they are lacking scientific knowledge regarding menstruation. The study was undertaken with the objective to assess the social restrictions faced by college going unmarried girls of Chandigarh. A stratified multistage random sampling design was adopted for selection of participants from the selected colleges of Chandigarh. A total of 1000 girls who had attained menarche were selected. Information was collected through personal interviews conducted in privacy using semi -structured survey schedule. Respondents were asked about restrictions imposed during menstrual cycle and whether they think those restrictions as right. 58.6% of respondents practice restrictions during their menses. Among these, majority of the respondents 81.39% avoided visit holy places, followed by 46.24 % avoided eating some food items, 26.28 % restricted physical activity, 9.89% restricted bathing, 8.87% restricted interaction with boys , 6.48% absence from college, 5.11% didn’t attend social activities/ gathering, 4.26% didn’t enter kitchen/ cooking & serving foods, 3.58% didn’t traveling alone,3.24% used separate bed and 1.53% practiced isolation . No reaction was reported 16.72% respondents while 67.91% accepted restrictions normally. There were 15.5% respondents who accept these restrictions with pressure from family while 3.58% accepted these with anger and 4.43% feel bored /disgusted on such restrictions. The study revealed that there was an inappropriate knowledge and hygiene practice due to various misconceptions, beliefs and taboos among college girls regarding menstruation. Efforts should be made to reduce such restrictions, taboos, myths and various undesired practices for better reproductive health related outcomes.