Period poverty in rural Sri Lanka; Understanding menstruation hygiene and related health issues to empower women.

Abstract

This report presents findings on the prevalence of "period poverty" in Sri Lanka, which refers to inadequate financial resources, cultural stigma, and limited menstrual hygiene resources that affect the management of menstruation. We conducted a cross-sectional study in 2010, in the Anuradhapura district with 539 pregnant women, collecting data on their menstrual history, health-seeking behaviour, blood loss, and access to sanitary products. Our results show that 137 (25.4%) of the women reported menstrual issues, and only 68 (12.6%) of them sought medical care. Furthermore, 139 (25.7%) of the participants reported a menstrual blood loss of more than 80ml. Of the participants, 98 (18.2%) had used "old clothes" as a sanitary product during their lifetime, highlighting the lack of access to proper menstrual hygiene products. We found that inadequate sanitary facilities were associated with low education, low income, living in remote MOH areas, and moor ethnicity. Given the current economic hardships faced by Sri Lanka as a country, the study on period poverty gains a greater relevance, emphasizing the need of addressing the financial burden of menstrual hygiene products. We recommend comprehensive reproductive health education for adolescent girls and women, as well as efforts to reduce the financial burden of menstrual hygiene products, to improve the management of menstruation for women in Sri Lanka.