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Making Menstruation More Sustainable: Bleed With Dignity And Responsibility

Written By: Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin
May 27, 2020
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Today, disposed sanitary pads and tampons have become a biohazard for the planet. This Menstrual Hygiene Day let’s raise awareness about the importance of sustainable menstrual practices and products.

28 May is Menstrual Hygiene Day which aims to break taboos and raise awareness about the importance of good menstrual hygiene management for women and adolescent girls worldwide. It was initiated by the German-based NGO WASH United in 2014. Today, menstruation is a topic slowly making itself into homes and creating awareness about the many taboos surrounding it. Initially, women had been using discarded cloth for absorbing the menstrual blood. This slowly gave way to the sanitary pad revolution. A boon at one time, today sanitary pad has become a biohazard for the planet. Use of non-biodegradable napkins is increasing every day with rising incomes and changing demographics. We produce several hundred million used sanitary pads a month. Plus sanitary workers who pick up these pads, tend to catch infections from them. So on this occasion let us strive and educate ourselves a bit about how we can contribute in lessening towards sanitary waste.

What can we do to reduce our landfills with sanitary waste?

The answer: Use environmentally biodegradable products which are reusable and contribute minimally to the global landfill in the long run.

The options: Many. Right from biodegradable/organic sanitary napkins which decompose over time, to reusable cloth pads to the menstrual cup. The choices are plenty but the awareness is little.

Let’s explore:

1. Organic Sanitary Pads:  According to experts, the modern sanitary napkins with odor neutralizers and fragrance use artificial colors, and are 90 per cent  plastic, which may cause hormone imbalance, cancer and infertility and take hundreds of years to decompose. But organic and biodegradable sanitary pads can decompose within 6 months. They contain no-added bleach or chemical, and are made with plant-based materials like wood pulp, bamboo or banana fiber and organic cotton, which is ecologically-certified.

2. Cloth Pads or just cloth: These are reusable and a great alternative to disposable sanitary napkins. They  are better for your body and the environment provided they are washed and maintained hygienically. They work exactly like a sanitary napkin, except they can be washed and reused for several years. They do not create any disposable waste after each use. It’s also a great save monetary wise. There are many ready-made cloth pad options available in the market ranging from different brands to sizes and colors. Some have a leak-proof layer with wings at the sides that have snap buttons to keep the cloth pad in place. These can also be made at home with hygienic discarded cloth. There are many DIY tutorials available online. However, care should be taken to make sure all these layers are fully exposed to sunlight while drying.

3. Menstrual Cups: Menstrual cups are made of medical grade silicon that collects the blood when kept inserted inside the vagina. This is the same grade that is used in making nipples for baby feeding bottles hence safe to use. Unlike regular pads, there’s no foul smell of the blood, rashes or itchiness and it is much more hygienic than the sanitary napkins. They’re reusable, easy to use with a bit of practice, a one time investment and largely chemical free. Menstrual cups can be a revolution for the lower class of Indian women who have no sanitary options while menstruating and can be a revolution. They come in various sizes and lengths to suit different bodies. This costs 1000-4000 rupees in a lifetime as it can last for years without needing disposal or change. Many brands have emerged in the market.

4. Period Panties: Period panties are designed to provide leak-proof comfort all day long. Period panties have extra absorbent layers to prevent the leakages. You can wash and reuse them multiple times. A loop through which pads can also be slipped in helps keep the pad immobilized. For light bleeding, you can bleed directly into them but for heavy bleeding with chances of leakage, these can be teamed up with your regular menstrual product.

Why are breathable menstrual products important for health? 

While the pH of blood is around 7.5 (slightly alkaline), the vaginal pH is typically 3.5 to 4.5 (moderately acidic).  The normal vaginal pH is ideal for beneficial bacteria and creates a hostile environment for pathogenic bacteria that cause odor and infection. When the pH of the vagina increases, it favors the growth of pathogenic bacteria and yeast. 

During menstruation, vaginal pH becomes elevated by menstrual blood, and chances of contracting infections such as bacterial vaginosis becomes high. Therefore, breathable menstrual products which require to be changed frequently, such as cotton cloth, help to keep the pH levels in check, and prevent vaginal infection, says women’s health activist Sinu Joseph. On the other hand, menstrual products that contain an impermeable plastic layer such as sanitary napkins, and/or are highly absorbent such as tampons, can increase the chances of vaginal infections by increasing the vaginal pH by retaining blood for long periods of time.

Plenty of brands, tutorials, and information is available on the internet and social media regarding sustainable menstrual products and one can easily choose from the wide options available and also order online.  It’s time to menstruate responsibly. Let’s switch to sustainable methods of menstruation and join the revolution for a better planet.

Cloth PadsDignityHygienicMenstrual CupsMenstruationOrganic PadsResponsibilityWomen Health

Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin

Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin has done her masters in Journalism & Communication and has worked as a senior journalist, editor and columnist for leading publications like The Logical Indian, Deccan Chronicle, Worldwide Media Corporation, The Bridge and Provoke.
With Infano, she hopes to create more awareness about women’s health issues. Suffering with Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, she has also been advocating for its awareness through media.

2 thoughts on “Making Menstruation More Sustainable: Bleed With Dignity And Responsibility”

  1. Amena
    May 28, 2020 at 7:09 am

    Informative and helpful

    Reply
  2. Pingback: Switching to a Menstrual Cup? This Lady Will Tell You How to Ace It! -

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Infano Care

Self-Care To Beat Your Work From Home Blues

Written By: Shweta Singh
March 11, 2022 | 12:57 PM |
733

Highlights

Why Self-Care becomes very important  for Women professional working from home?

De-clutter your home space by zoning might not seem important, but it can help.

Plan beforehand by making a to-do list.

Pick up a hobby to de-stress, as it is important for your mental well-being

Put off work few hours before bedtime

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Women professionals often neglect their mental and physical health while working from home. This results in degraded mental health, messed up personal life, and a lot of burnout. This in turn also affects work-life leading to lower productivity. Here are some life hacks to beat your WFH blues. Read the full article to know the amazing to declutter your life while working from home and make it organized and stress-free.

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Work from Home has become a new normal since the Covid pandemic has hit across the world. To blend into this normalcy office setups have shifted inside the homes merging the personal and professional lives of women

In the initial phase of WFH  social media trends like whipping up dalgona, shaking a leg at trending songs, and hoping on to all the latest trends helped the populace to keep afloat but eventually, the increasing workload of personal and professional lives became mentally taxing leaving no room for personal care for working women.

Work from home and self-care

Women professionals who are working from home have eventually managed to keep up with this new normal of blending into work and personal life balance yet self-care falls at least of their priority list. Mostly because it is considered a time-consuming activity

The prolonged effect of the pandemic has worsened the mental and physical health of women professionals. Therefore, prioritizing your health by making a few changes into your daily routine can help boost your energy. This can also lead to free up your time and create a healthy flow into your daily life. Here are a few simple hacks to get you started.

Zoning your Home

Diving your home into the workplace and living space can help declutter your headspace as well. When being into the workplace you will remain focused and productive while stepping into the living space will help you relax and rest at ease.

Prepare a To-Do List

Planning out your day beforehand helps prioritize tasks. It also helps declutter the workspace as you precisely pick on to urgent and important tasks leaving enough time for you to unwind and de-stress post work. 

Set Boundaries through time tracking

One major downside of WFH is the feeling of not doing enough as carrying out a lot of personal and professional work dismantles the time structure. In this case time tracking/time blocking can help break down your day into manageable chunks and brings out a work-life balance.

Here is video to help you understand the process of time tracking/time blocking.

Take breaks between work

Do not forget to take regular breaks amidst rushing through your day to deadlines. A few short breaks to sip a cup of coffee, listen to a 15 mins podcast or simply watering plants in your balcony can recharge your energy and prepare you better to resume work. Working continuously without taking breaks can result in burnout and degraded mental health. 

Pick Up a Hobby

Pick up a hobby to de-stress during the day. It can as simple as listening to your favorite music, baking your dessert, brushing up your painting skills or journaling your day. Besides these it can also be an outside activity like taking an evening walk, cycling. These activities will help you look forward to your day and one can fit it into their schedule at will. 

Plug out a few hours before dozing off

Try to finish your work at least 2-3 hours before dozing off, as it will help you relax post work. On the contrary, working until bedtime may degrade your sleep quality and affects your mental health. A sound sleep of 7-8 hours is a necessity for mind and body to work efficiently. 

Lastly, Embracing a new normal can take some time but eventually, it can get easier if  you learn to blend in your work and personal life with the above-stated life hacks.

To read more on women’s health, click

ProductivitySelf -CareWFHWork From Home

Shweta Singh

A Writer, who sometimes lends voice to audio book and loves to be on camera. An avid reader with a penchant for storytelling on camera.

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