A new study published in BMC Infectious Diseases aimed to determine whether poor menstrual hygiene practices were associated with three common infections of the lower reproductive tract; vis, bacterial vaginosis (BV), Candida, and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV). This study enrolled 558 non-pregnant women of reproductive age, attending a hospital in Odisha, India, between April 2015 and February 2016. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect information on menstrual hygiene management (MHM) practices, clinical symptoms for the three infections, and socio-economic and demographic information. Specimens from posterior vaginal fornix were collected using swabs for diagnosis of BV, Candida and TV infections. The results revealed that 62.4% of the women assessed had at least one of the three infections and 52% presented with one or more reproductive tract infection (RTI) symptoms. It was noted that BV was the most prevalent (41%), followed by Candida infection (34%), and TV infection (5.6%). Women diagnosed with Candida infection were more likely to use reusable absorbent material during menstruation and to practice lower frequency of personal washing. Women with BV were more likely to practice personal washing less frequently and change absorbent material outside a toilet facility. No studied factors were found to be associated with TV infection. Meanwhile, among women reusing absorbent material, Candida but not BV or TV infection was more frequent - this group included women who dried their pads inside their houses and who stored absorbent material in a toilet compartment. Hence, the findings suggested a strong and consistent association between poor menstrual hygiene practices and higher prevalence of lower RTIs.