Women have been advised to practise good personal hygiene during menstrual periods to prevent infections.
Miss Rosina Darcha, the Acting Head of the Midwifery Department at the C.K Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, who gave the advice, said personal hygiene was cardinal in the health of women during this period because the menstrual blood was rich in nutrients that aided the rapid growth of infectious microorganism.
She also advised women and adolescent girls to have their baths at least twice daily and change used sanitary pads periodically to avoid wearing one for more than six hours.
She was speaking to selected adolescent girls from the Savelugu School of the Deaf on the role of menstrual hygiene at a menstrual hygiene forum organised by the Ghana National Association on the Deaf (GNAD) in Tamale.
Ms Darcha said women who despised personal hygiene, especially during menstruation, were at a high risk of reproductive tract infections, which could affect their reproductive health.
She emphasised that “There is the need for women to observe and know their body well to be able to tell if there are abnormalities at a point in time to seek early medical attention.”
She reiterated attending to infections at the initial stages to avoid complications.
Ms Darcha encouraged parents to make their young girls understand that menstruation was a natural occurrence for women to prepare them psychologically for the stress and discomfort associated with it.
She said, “Making them understand that menstruation is natural and can be discomforting make them mentally fit to handle and easier for them to manage.”
Source: Ghana News Agency