Knowledge and Practices of Omani Adolescent Girls Related to Menstruation

An adolescent girl should be made aware of the phenomenon of menstruation before menarche, so as to enable her to accept it as a normal developmental process and manage it appropriately. Less attention has been given to the effect that menarche itself and the management of monthly menstrual periods may have on school attendance, learning outcomes, and continued school enrollment. This study was done with the objectives of assessing the knowledge and practices of adolescent girls related to menstruation. It was carried out in school going adolescent girls. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect information on knowledge and practices of girls related to menstruation after taking informed consent. Majority of girls (78.8%) had knowledge about menstruation before attaining menarche. Main source of knowledge about menstruation was girls’ family (60.2%). Majority of girls (56%) felt that the duration of menses ranged between 7-8 days. Majority (95.8%) knew that menses occur once a month. Only 56% knew the right duration of normal menstrual cycles. During menstruation (31.2%) one third of the students skipped school. Almost 34% took medication for pain during menstruation without any prescription. It was found that 32.6% girls used heating pads and 35.1% girls used herbal remedies to get relief from dysmenorrhea. Most of the girls had knowledge on menstruation from their families. During menstruation one third of the students skipped school and took medication for menstrual pain without prescription. Herbal remedies were used by one third of girls to relieve this pain. Keywords: Menstruation, knowledge, practice, school, adolescent