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<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I met Meera, 35, when she was working on her farm in Wadad, a village in Jhadol block of Udaipur district, Rajasthan. She shared her period story, including her struggles with the laal kapda (red cloth) \u201cUsing cloth felt like such a hassle. It had to be washed, dried\u2013 a real bother.\u201d She found it uncomfortable, hard to clean, and constantly worried about leakage. \u201cI was always tense, checking if the cloth was in position or if it had gotten soaked. Working in the fields during a period was difficult\u2013it felt so uncomfortable.\u201d A few years ago, her daughter received free disposable pads from school, and Meera too tried them out. They didn\u2019t meet her expectation\u2013she had to change them frequently, they caused rash while walking, and disposal was difficult. \u201cWhere do you throw pads? How to dispose them? We had to wake up early to burn them in the field\u2013 that was not convenient.\u201d A year ago, Ejki, a community health entrepreneur appointed by ARTH, introduced Meera to the menstrual cup. She explained that it was reusable, comfortable, and cheaper in the long run. Initially, Meera was hesitant. The idea of inserting something inside her body felt unfamiliar. But Ejki demonstrated its use with a model, shared her own experience, and assured Meera she could reach out anytime for guidance. Meera finally decided to give it a try. The first two cycles were a learning experience filled with doubts about insertion and removal. \u201cAt first, I wondered how to insert this cup. I was scared, thinking, what if it gets stuck inside?\u201d But soon, she realized its convenience. No leakage, no stains, and no itchy rash\u2013just what she wanted. Smiling, she said, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t even feel like I am on my periods. I work in the field like on any other day.\u201d A year later, Meera couldn\u2019t imagine going back to her old ways. Her satisfaction was clear when she introduced her 16-year-old daughter to the menstrual cup, buying her a smaller size. With a proud smile, Meera said, \u201cI tried the menstrual cup and found it useful, so I gave one to my daughter too. At first, she was unsure, just like I was, but I wanted her to have a better experience. Now, she finds it easy and comfortable.\u201d Meera is not alone. Since ARTH introduced menstrual cups in Udaipur and Rajsamand in July 2019, over 7,700 women have bought them at a nominal cost. Follow-up shows that 85% of users continued using them. About 10% of purchasers are adolescents, with most having been introduced to the cup by their parents or older female relatives. The National Family Health Survey \u2014 5 (2019-21) reported that a mere 0.3% of women were using menstrual cups. ARTH\u2019s experience suggests that when women have easy access to menstrual cups and receive support and guidance from an experienced user in the initial months, acceptance and satisfaction levels can be high. Gunjan Khorgade (gk@ccr.arth.in)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1625,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n