Menstrual hygiene practices and its association with reproductive tract infections and abnormal vaginal discharge among women in India

• The use of hygienic methods (sanitary pad/locally prepared napkins) during menstruation is just 15% among ever-married women.
• There is a positive association between socio-economic status of women and use of hygienic methods.
• RTI and vaginal discharge are both significantly higher among women who practice unhygienic methods during menstruation.

ObjectiveThe objective was to explore the determinants of menstrual hygienic practices and its effect on Reproductive Tract Infections (RTI) among ever married women in India.MethodsDistrict Level Household and Facility Survey-3 (DLHS) India data have been used in the study. The respondents constituted ever married women (N = 577,758) in the age group of 15–49. Bivariate and multivariate techniques were employed using IBM SPSS statistics 20. Individual effects of socio economic, demographic and gynecological factors on menstrual hygienic practices, RTIs and abnormal vaginal discharged respectively were calculated using binary logistic regression.ResultsA meager 15% of women used sanitary pad/locally prepared napkins during menstruation in India. Both RTI and Vaginal discharge were positively related with non-use of hygienic methods. The women who used unhygienic method during menstruation were more likely to have any symptom of RTI (OR = 1.046, p < 0.001, CI = 1.021–1.071) and vaginal discharge (OR = 1.303, p < 0.001, CI = 1.266–1.341).ConclusionThe reason for the symptoms of RTI may be diverse and not only limited to the unhygienic menstrual practices although this may be one of the reasons causing reproductive morbidity. Awareness, affordability and privacy are some of the major concerns that need immediate attention to promote the use of sanitary pad during the time of menstruation. Establishing relation between menstrual practices and RTI is in its initial stage of investigation and hence needs further research