Mother-Daughter’s Relationship With Menstrual Hygiene and Premenstrual Symptoms in Iranian Teenage Girls

Girls need special care regarding menstrual hygiene because of early pubertal development and related problems. The researchers aimed to explore the knowledge about the role of the mother-daughter relationship in menstrual hygiene among young teens.

A cross-sectional study was conducted (February-April 2020) among 190 elderly young teenage girls in middle schools who lived in Bukan, North-West of Iran. Data about demographic characteristics, menstrual information, knowledge of menstrual hygiene management, the practice of menstrual hygiene, the premenstrual symptom screening tool, visual analog scale for pain, and parent-child relationship survey were collected by a questionnaire using a multistage random sampling method. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS (version 25) through descriptive and analytical statistics.

The most common severe signs and symptoms were anger/irritability (21.6%), fatigue/lack of energy (19.5%), and decreased interest in household activities (17.9%). A sense of shame was reported more among girls who have moderate relationships with their mothers (P=0.011), and a significant relationship was found between mothers’ low literacy and the severity of premenstrual symptoms in their daughters (P=0.036).

Mothers play a crucial role in their daughters’ lives, which can buffer stressors and relieve anxiety, especially during the experiencing of menarche and during the menstruation period, indicating familial support to overcome the puberty-related crisis.