“Menstruation is a Fearful Thing”: A Qualitative Exploration of Menstrual Experiences and Sources of Information About Menstruation Among Adolescent Schoolgirls

References

• Tegegne TK, Sisay MM. Menstrual hygiene management and school absenteeism among female adolescent students in Northeast Ethiopia. BMC Public Health. 2014;14:1–4.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hawkey AJ, Ussher JM, Perz J, Metusela C. Experiences and constructions of menarche and menstruation among migrant and refugee women. Qual Health Res. 2017;27(10):1473–1490. doi:10.1177/1049732316672639
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ajah LO, Onubogu ES, Anozie OB, et al. Adolescent reproductive health challenges among schoolgirls in southeast Nigeria: role of knowledge of menstrual pattern and contraceptive adherence. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2015;9:1219. doi:10.2147/PPA.S89258
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ssewanyana D, Bitanihirwe BKY. Menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Glob Health Promot. 2019;26(1):105–108. doi:10.1177/1757975917694597
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Leventhal KS, DeMaria LM, Gillham JE, Andrew G, Peabody J, Leventhal SM. A psychosocial resilience curriculum provides the “missing piece” to boost adolescent physical health: a randomized controlled trial of girls first in India. Soc Sci Med. 2016;161:37–46. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.05.004
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Crawford M, Menger LM, Kaufman MR. ‘This is a natural process’: managing menstrual stigma in Nepal. Ult Health Sex. 2014;16(4):426–439. doi:10.1080/13691058.2014.887147
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mugambi A, Georgas T. Menstruation as an education and gender indicator affecting girls dropping out of school International Journal of Educational Research and Development 2016 4 1 1–9.
   Google Scholar
• Lowik A. The Palgrave handbook of critical menstruation studies. Sex Reprod Health Matters. 2020;28(1):1854928. doi:10.1080/26410397.2020.1854928
   Google Scholar
• Guya E, Mayo AW, Kimwag R. Menstrual hygiene management in secondary schools in Tanzania. Int J Sci Technol. 2014;3:47–61.
   Google Scholar
• Hema Priya S, Nandi P, Seetharaman N, Ramya M, Nishanthini N, Lokeshmaran A. A study of menstrual hygiene and related personal hygiene practices among adolescent girls in rural Puducherry. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017;4:2348–2355. doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20172822
   Google Scholar
• Ussher JM, Perz J, Metusela C, et al. Negotiating discourses of shame, secrecy, and silence: migrant and refugee women’s experiences of sexual embodiment. Arch Sex Behav. 2017;46(7):1901–1921. doi:10.1007/s10508-016-0898-9
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Romero-Moraleda B, Del Coso J, Gutiérrez-Hellín J, Lara B. The effect of caffeine on the velocity of half-squat exercise during the menstrual cycle: a randomized controlled trial. Nutrients. 2019;11(11):2662. doi:10.3390/nu11112662
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kuhlmann AS, Henry K, Wall LL. Menstrual hygiene management in resource poor countries. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2017;73(6):356–376. doi:10.1097/OGX.0000000000000443
   Google Scholar
• Sumpter C, Torondel B, RezaBaradaran H. A systematic review of the health and social effects of menstrual hygiene management. PLoS One. 2013;8(4):e62004. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062004
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Atti M Ministry of water, irrigation and energy community-led accelerated WASH project (COWASH) 2019; 2019. Available from: https://www.cmpethiopia.org/page/3357. Accessed May 9, 2023.
   Google Scholar
• Belayneh Z, Mekuriaw B. Knowledge and menstrual hygiene practice among adolescent school girls in southern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):1–8. doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7973-9
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Marvan ML, Molina-Abolnik M. Mexican adolescents’ experience of menarche and attitudes toward menstruation: role of communication between mothers and daughters. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2012;25:358–363. doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2012.05.003
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cooper SC, Barthalow Koch P. ”Nobody told me nothin”: communication about menstruation among low-income African-American women. Women Health. 2007;46(1):57–78. doi:10.1300/J013v46n01_05
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Shah V, Nabwera HM, Sosseh F, et al. A rite of passage: a mixed methodology study about knowledge, perceptions and practices of menstrual hygiene management in rural Gambia. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):1–15. doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6599-2
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Deshpande TN, Patil SS, Gharai SB, Patil S, Durgawale P. Menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls–a study from urban slum area. J Family Med Prim Care. 2018;7(6):1439. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_80_18
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Michael J, Iqbal Q, Haider S, et al. Knowledge and practice of adolescent females about menstruation and menstruation hygiene visiting a public healthcare institute of Quetta, Pakistan. BMC Womens Health. 2020;20(1):1–8. doi:10.1186/s12905-019-0874-3
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Juma J, Nyothach E, Laserson KF, et al. Examining the safety of menstrual cups among rural primary school girls in western Kenya: observational studies nested in a randomised controlled feasibility study. BMJ open. 2017;7(4):e015429. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015429
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mason L, Nyothach E, Alexander K, et al. ‘We keep it secret so no one should know’--a qualitative study to explore young schoolgirls attitudes and experiences with menstruation in rural western Kenya. PLoS One. 2013;8(11):e79132. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0079132
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• MacLean K, Hearle C, Ruwanpura KN. Stigma of staining? Negotiating menstrual taboos amongst young women in Kenya. Womens Stud Int Forum. 2020;78:102290. doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2019.102290
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Johnston-Robledo I, Chrisler JC. The menstrual mark: menstruation as social stigma. Sex Roles. 2013;68(1–2):9–18. doi:10.1007/s11199-011-0052-z
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chandra-Mouli V, Patel SV. Mapping the knowledge and understanding of menarche, menstrual hygiene and menstrual health among adolescent girls in low-and middle-income countries. Reprod Health. 2017;14(1):1–16. doi:10.1186/s12978-017-0293-6
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Phillips-Howard PA, Nyothach E, Ter Kuile FO, et al. Menstrual cups and sanitary pads to reduce school attrition, and sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections: a cluster randomised controlled feasibility study in rural western Kenya. BMJ open. 2016;6(11):e013229. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013229
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sivakami M, van Eijk AM, Thakur H, et al. Effect of menstruation on girls and their schooling, and facilitators of menstrual hygiene management in schools: surveys in government schools in three states in India, 2015. J Glob Health. 2019;9(1). doi:10.7189/jogh.09.010408
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sommer M. Where the education system and women’s bodies collide: the social and health impact of girls’ experiences of menstruation and schooling in Tanzania. J Adolesc. 2010;33:521–529. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.03.008
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lee J. Bodies at menarche: stories of shame, concealment, and sexual maturation. Sex Roles. 2009;60(9–10):615–627. doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9569-1
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Simes MR, Berg DH. Surreptitious learning: menarche and menstrual product advertisements. Health Care Women Int. 2010;22(5):455–469.
   Google Scholar
• Hennink MM, Kaiser BN, Weber MB. What influences saturation? Estimating sample sizes in focus group research. Qual Health Res. 2019;29(10):1483–1496. doi:10.1177/1049732318821692
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Do Amaral MCE, Hardy E, Hebling EM. Menarche among Brazilian women: memories of experiences. Midwifery. 2011;27(2):203–208. doi:10.1016/j.midw.2009.05.008
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bennett C, Harden J. An exploration of mothers’ attitudes towards their daughters’ menarche. Sex Educ. 2014;14(4):457–470. doi:10.1080/14681811.2014.922862
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Jarrah SS, Kamel AA. Attitudes and practices of school-aged girls towards menstruation. Int J Nurs Pract. 2012;18:308–315. doi:10.1111/j.1440-172X.2012.02032.x
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Johnston-Robledo I, Sheffield K, Voigt J, Wilcox-Constantine J. Reproductive shame: self-objectification and young women’s attitudes toward their reproductive functioning. Women Health. 2007;46(1):25–39. doi:10.1300/J013v46n01_03
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chothe V, Khubchandani J, Seabert D, et al. Students’ perceptions and doubts about menstruation in developing countries: a case study from India. Health Promot Pract. 2014;15(3):319–326. doi:10.1177/1524839914525175
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• O’Flynn N. Menstrual symptoms: the importance of social factors in women’s experiences. Br J Gen Pract. 2006;56:950–957.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• van Eijk AM, Zulaika G, Lenchner M, et al. Menstrual cup use, leakage, acceptability, safety, and availability: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Public Health. 2019;4(8):e376–e393. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(19)30111-2
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Wall LL, Teklay K, Desta A, Belay S. Tending the ‘monthly flower:’ a qualitative study of menstrual beliefs in Tigray, Ethiopia. BMC Womens Health. 2018;18(1):183. doi:10.1186/s12905-018-0676-z
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Voluntary national review on the: sustainable development goals, Brazil; 2017 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/15806Brazil_English.pdf.
   Google Scholar
• Oster E, Thornton R. Menstruation, sanitary products, and school attendance: evidence from a randomized evaluation. Am Econ J Appl Econ. 2011;3(1):91–100.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Montgomery P, Ryus CR, Dolan CS, Dopson S, Scott LM, Baradaran HR. Sanitary pad interventions for girls’ education in Ghana: a pilot study. PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e48274. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048274
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar