Menstrual Hygiene Management in Adolescent Girls Amid Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Bangladesh

Menstruation is an inevitable part of women reproductive health. This study aimed to assess the percentage of adolescent girls who had experienced any change in the menstrual absorbent pattern during the Covid-19 pandemic and correlate it with several socio-demographic variables. This cross-sectional study was conducted among urban middle-class adolescent girls in the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka. A total of 281 teenage girls from the Dhaka city (urban region of the District), ages 10 to 19, who had gone through menarche were included in the study after receiving consent from the participants &/or parents. Data collected over fifteen days from 1 September 2021 to 15 September 2021. The interview was done by female interviewers with a structured questionnaire. Around 37.4% participants changed their menstrual absorbent type during the pandemic. Among them 13.2%, 8.5% and 15.7% have suffered from itchiness & irritation, sadness and all of these three respectively. None of the sufferer has sought any medical support to cure from the reproductive health issues. The washing procedure of reusable cloth was satisfactorily sun drying. There were significant relationships between changes in the usual pattern of menstrual absorbent usage with participants’ occupation (p=0.010), participants’ income (p=0.000), remission in participants’ income (p=0.002), and downfall in total family income (p=0.000) during the Covid-19 pandemic. Personal and family income played a vital role in preserving regular menstrual absorbent usage patterns. If income decreases the absorbent quality and quantity were altered to mitigate the financial problem in most cases. Education or other socio-economic status have negligible influence in seeking medical care in case of reproductive of health issues in early stage.