Aneeqa Mumtaz Joya, Dure Shawar, Nargis Rehana Malik.
Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices about Menstruation, Menarche and Hygiene among students of grades 8 th, 9th and 10th of the Ch Rehmat Ali Trust Higher Secondary School, Township Lahore.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;13(2):246-8.

Background: Menstruation and menstrual practices are associated with taboos and socio-cultureal restrictions. Good hygiene practices such as the use of sanitary pads and adequate washing of genital area are essential during menstruation. Aims : To assess age at menarche. Knowledge, attitude and menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls of grade 8th,9th, 10th in nearby high secondary school was analyzed . Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted among 100 adolescent girl students of age group 11-16 years, who had attained menarche. The students from grade 8 were (33%), 9(29%), 10 (38%) grade participated in the study. The students data was collected by using a structured questionnaire Results: Mean age of menarche in our study was 13.54 years. Main source of information about menarche was from mother 50%. About 88% of the respondent’s mother were literate and 12% were illiterate. About 77% of the respondents mother were housewives. 75% of the students had TV at home. 53% of the girls stated that there had been no class session related to menarche in school before the onset of puberty. About 42% of the girls had knowledge of menarche before onset of menstruation. 43% of the students did not had any knowledge of cause of menstruation and 38% did not know about the organ of origin of menstrual blood. 52% of students had knowledge about menarche before onset. Conclusion: This study concluded that the knowledge about menstruation and menstrual hygiene in adolescent girls was inadequate leading to unhygienic practices which is a very important risk factor for reproductive tract infections.

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