Experiences of girls about their menarche

Abstract

This is a study conducted among the first year nursing students, who were enrolled in the Nursing campuses at Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, and at Birgunj. The study is descriptive in nature, and 123 students took part in the study. The finding indicates that the majority of girls were unprepared for such a phenomenon as menstruation, and for most of them it was a frightening experience with very little knowledge about maintaining menstrual hygiene.
The objectives of the study were to find out:
• how the adolescents in Nepal perceive their first menstrual period;
• if these girls had some knowledge about menstruation;
• how the girls coped with the sudden changes in their physiology;
• the average age of menarche in Nepali girls;
• who the first person was they confided when it occurred to them;
• traditional customs observed during menarche and their importance