New Delhi: 'Sachhi Saheli', a Delhi-based NGO recently conducted an online survey with 628 participants to understand the possible impact of COVID-19 on the menstrual health of menstruators (those who menstruate).
The survey highlights the necessity of conducting in-depth and professional researches on the subject matter so that menstruators can be educated on the same to enable them to better take care of their menstrual health.
The objective of the survey was to investigate whether COVID-19 impacted menstrual cycles, menstrual bleeding and related aspects. It was conducted for participants in the age range of 15-50 years who belonged to several states in India including Delhi, Haryana and more.
Through the first and the second wave of the pandemic, the NGO made efforts to reach out to menstruators by distributing sanitary products to those in need and by keeping conversations around menstruation active through online dialogue.
Among the 628 participants, 413 participants reported that either they or someone in their family had suffered from COVID-19.
About 67% of the respondents were treated in home isolation and about 68% of them reported that their family members were treated in home isolation as well. Thus, 4.7% of the participants needed ventilation support.
Typically, increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression are proven to change menstrual patterns. Changes in menstrual patterns reported during COVID-19 may probably have been due to increased stress and anxiety.
Based on anecdotal evidence received before the conduction of the survey, 'Sachhi Saheli' asked the participants if they got their periods unexpectedly while they were suffering from the virus. 14.5% reported positively.
Nearly 69% of the participants described their periods as 'mostly regular' before they contracted the virus. However, 45 menstruators reported that after recovering, they observed that their menstrual cycle got shortened, while 31 participants reported that their menstrual cycle got extended. This implies that 18.4% of the total participants reported irregularities after having suffered from COVID-19.
As the NGO asked participants whether they observed any changes in the flow of their menstrual bleeding post-COVID-19 recovery, 40 menstruators reported that their bleeding was less/lighter than usual, while 43 menstruators reported that their bleeding got heavier than usual. This means that out of the 336 participants who answered this question, about 20.1% reported changes in menstrual bleeding post-COVID-19 recovery.
Several menstruators go through different 'Pre-Menstrual Syndrome' symptoms before or while on their period. While assessing the impact of COVID-19 on PMS patterns, it was found that 20.6% reported increased symptoms. There is a likelihood of a direct relationship between COVID-19 induced stress and the aggravated symptoms.
About 9.7% of menstruators noticed unusual blood clots in their menstrual bleeding. It must be researched if COVID-19 vaccines cause any unusual clotting of menstrual blood as anecdotal reports of the same have appeared as well.
Substantial attention and resources are required to further understand the impact of COVID-19 on the menstrual health of menstruators so that they can be prepared as much as possible.