Menstrual hygiene management
[1] It can also include the "broader systemic factors that link menstruation with health, well-being, gender equality, education, equity, empowerment, and rights".
[1] Menstrual hygiene management can be particularly challenging for girls and women in developing countries, where clean water and toilet facilities are often inadequate.
[3] The CLTS Knowledge Hub gives a definition that accounts for these four aspects as well as social and cultural factors: Menstrual hygiene management’ is the way in which women and adolescent girls deal with their menstruation.
(Good) MHM requires a minimum level of knowledge and awareness in women and adolescent girls to manage their menstruation effectively and hygienically by using a clean material to absorb or collect menstrual blood, by practicing good hygiene and personal care during their period, and by having access to facilities to wash or dispose of used menstrual management materials with dignity and in an environmentally responsible manner.
[9] In 1957, Mary Davidson Kenner presented a patent for an adjustable sanitary belt designed to secure the pad, prevent menstrual blood leakage, and avoid stains.
Since then, menstrual products have undergone substantial transformations, evolving to be more ergonomic, thinner, and incorporating diverse materials to enhance absorption.
[9] Menstrual hygiene management can be particularly challenging for girls and women in developing countries, where clean water and toilet facilities are often inadequate.
"[17] More recently, studies have shown that 50% of women in India have experienced a urinary tract infection (UTI) related to the inability to safely manage their period.
[20][21]Poor MHM may affect the reproductive tract, but the specific infections, the strength of effect, and the route of transmission remain unclear.
Impacts can include school absenteeism, missed class time, reduced participation, teasing, fear and shame, and risky adaptive behaviors.
In the United States, among other countries, girls who are unable to afford feminine hygiene products may miss school in order "to avoid the embarrassment of staining their clothes".
[34] It also includes other constraints such as taboos and myths, movement and food restrictions, shame and stigma around impurity and dirt which all contribute to the menstruator having an experience which is not dignified.
In the same study, one in five low-wage women reported missing work, school or similar events due to lack of access to period supplies.
[36] In recent years, many governments have actively increased access to affordable sanitary products and changing social norms towards menstruation.
[37] In a mixed-method study conducted from May to August 2019 in New York City with homeless individuals, many participants reported that they had uncertain access to safe, clean, and private spaces for changing period products.
[44] In low-income countries, girls’ choices of menstrual hygiene materials are often limited by the costs, availability and social norms.
[54][55] Menstrual cups offer a long-term solution compared to some other feminine hygiene products because they do not need to be replaced monthly.
The quality of the material also makes them a reliable and healthy menstrual hygiene solution, as long as there is access to clean water for washing them.
Unlike traditional pads and tampons, it sits comfortably higher in the vaginal canal, offering a discreet, leak-free period experience.
"[57] The Christian sweeper community in Lahore who clean the roads do not have access to public washrooms because none or very few are available for women and because of this have to miss work when they have their period.
[58][59] Often they do not attend school due to fear of leaking, shame or embarrassment, period pain or inadequate sanitation facilities that do not allow them to wash or change in privacy.
[62] Access to menstrual hygiene products may be limited in prisons and correctional facilities where the services have been historically designed for the male population.
[65] On May 1, 2018, the National Diaper Bank Network, which provides millions of diapers to poor and low income parents and advocates for policy change around basic needs, launched the Alliance for Period Supplies and began distributing free period products through allied organizations across the U.S.[66] Homeless women in other industrialized countries, such as the United Kingdom, face problems affording tampons and sanitary napkins.
They have no access to clean running water, public washrooms are few and mainly for men, there is no privacy, no place to rest and the women suffer from many infections.
Lack of access to waste disposal leads women to throw used products in toilet systems, pit latrines, or discarded into open areas such as bodies of water.
[75][76] In rural Bolivia a menstrual hygiene management game was developed for school girls that stimulated detailed responses, and diversified participatory activities in focus group discussions.
In Balochistan, a tribal area of Pakistan, the first ever menstrual health participatory workshop held in 2021, used poetry and art to raise awareness and change the discussion around the subject and make it more open.
[4] An under researched area is how people living with disabilities cope with the challenges of menstruation, and how their care givers have to manage their menstrual hygiene and health for them.
[35] Further research investigation and practical assistance is also needed for those living in temporary shelters due to migration, climate change, flooding, earth quakes, communal riots or other such reasons of displacement.
The day offers an opportunity to actively advocate for the integration of menstrual hygiene management into global, national, and local policies and programmes.
