Bhopal: Indian women should stop using disposable sanitary pads, says Gynaecologist Dr Surjit Kaur

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): National president of Inner Wheel Club Dr Surjit Kaur feels that Indian women should stop using disposable sanitary pads and shift to reusable or biodegradable pads.

Dr Kaur, who is a gynaecologist by training and profession says that disposable napkins are made of plastic which takes 500-800 to disintegrate. “In the meantime, it continues to pollute air, soil and water and ultimately harms humans,” she has told the Free Press.

Dr Kaur, who was in the city to attend the installation function of the new executive team of Inner Wheel District, says that till a decade or so back, they too used to recommend using disposal sanitary pads by teenage girls and women with a view to improving menstrual hygiene. “But now, we no longer do that,” she says.

The doctor says that once washed thoroughly, reusable sanitary pads are as hygienic as the disposable ones. She says that using menstrual cups is also a good option. “Biodegradable pads and menstrual cups are available on the websites of e-commerce companies,” she says.

Dr Kaur says that it is very important to make school-going girls of the options available to them. “Their mothers are their guides and even they don’t know about modern alternatives,” she says.

She was of the opinion that just as the governments have launched several schemes for adolescent girls, expectant women and lactating mothers, they should also do something for post-menopausal women.

Dr Kaur says that a majority of Indian women suffer from calcium and Vitamin D deficiency. “You will be surprised to know that 80 % of Indian women are deficient in Vitamin D. “Our country has so much sunlight but still we suffer from Vitamin D deficiency. That is so because while the elderly don’t get enough exposure to sunlight because they mostly remain indoors, the younger ones wear sunscreens,” she says.

She says that osteoporosis (a condition in which bones become brittle and weak) sets in after the age of 30. “One needs to start taking calcium supplements after one’s 30th birthday,” she says.