EXPERIENCES OF MENARCHE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL GIRLS IN IBADAN NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Menarche (onset of menstruation) is a normal developmental milestone among adolescent girls. The experience could be characterized by varying physical problems and emotional reactions. There is dearth of information in respect of how menarche is experienced among in-school adolescents in Nigeria. This study was therefore designed to determine the physical complaints and feelings experienced by adolescent girls during menarche in public secondary schools in lbadan North Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey. A two-stage random sampling technique was used to select 400 girls from three out of twenty-four schools for study in the Local Government Area. A validated semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was analyzed using descriptive and Chi square statistics. The mean age of the participants was 13.9±2.0 years. Sixty percent of the participants lived with both parents while 10.3% lived with their mothers. Out of the 400 respondents 77.5% had started menstruating while 22.6% had not. Their mean age at menarche was 12.3 ± 1.4 years. Ninety- five percent of all respondents had heard about menstruation before. The sources of information about menstruation were mothers (46.8%), teachers (32.8%), elder sisters (13.2%), friends (5.8%), TV/Radio (0.5%), Books/Pamphlets and fathers (0.3%). What participants heard about menstruation prior to experiencing it included the following: pregnancy could occur following the onset of menstruation if one indulges in sex (37.1%); menstruation is an indication that one had become a woman (32.6%) or one had grown up (19.7%); it is an experience that one should always keep secret (9.4%) and menstruation is a normal development in women (1.3%). A higher proportion of participants in the Senior Secondary School (37.0%) had heard about menstruation before experiencing it than those in Junior Secondary School (28.1%) (p< 0.05). The emotional feelings experienced by the respondents during menarche included surprise (33.5%). fear (22.5%) and happiness (14.5%). There was no significant difference in the proportion of participants within the 9-12 years (57.1%) and 13-17 years (42.9%) age groups that had unpleasant experiences at menarche. The physical complaints experienced by the participants during menarche included abdominal pain (53.5%), headache (9.8%) and cramps (7.7%). These pains were overcome by taking pain relieving drugs (54.0%), indoor exercises (8.8%), drinking hot tea without sugar (4.0%). Secondary school girls in Ibadan North Local Government Area experienced some negative feelings and problems during onset of menstruation. The capacity of mothers and teachers, who are common sources of information about menarche and menstruation, should be enhanced through appropriate educational interventions to be providing social support to adolescent girls.