Problems Related to Menstruation amongst Women with Visual Disability in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

There is limited knowledge and many misconceptions about menstruation among young women in India before and even after the menarche. Indian women's perceptions on menstruation vary among different cultures and religions. Under this circumstance, this paper discusses the menstruation issues and its determinants among the visually impaired women. This study was conducted in Tamilnadu during 2012-2013. Snow ball sampling methods was adopted to choose the study population. Totally 468 women were interviewed. The average age at occurrence of menarche was 3.43 years. About half of the of respondents express that no one had discussion with them regarding menstruation matters, it indicating that the menstruation process often been dealt with secrecy among visual disabled population the same as general population. Seven out of ten visually impaired women had experienced any one of the menstruation related problems in the study area, indicates that visually impaired women's needs have been so widely and so deeply neglected, or not being properly addressed. Hence, specific measures should be taken for mainstreaming disabled women to get better education on reproductive health which will help them practice safe and hygienic menstrual practices and come out of traditional beliefs, misconceptions, and restrictions regarding menstruation.