Maternal and infant health care a sociological study among the population in agastheswaram phc kanyakumari district tamilnadu

Abstract

It is again a pathetic paradox to see why women do not seek health facilities, even when they are available free (or are they not?) during their pregnancy, despite suffering and death, during delivery or even afterwards. It is equally unfortunate to know that many mothers do not seek health facilities either for themselves, or for their children, even when they see other children dying early, and even if they are told that diseases and death can be prevented. Their reluctance to utilize the services, their indifference to their risk or to their children, or their inability to obtain or their ignorance of availability of the services, might be attributed broadly to social, cultural and economic factors. newline The most important social factor is high rate of illiteracy and lack of education among females in India. In fact, lack of education is the root-cause of ignorance, indifference, superstition, conservatism towards medical services for themselves and for their children. The adult literacy (percentage of literates 15 years and above) among females in India is just 20 as against 40 to 80 in some Asian countries and 50 to 96 in South America. Education exposes them to modern ideas, creates awareness and convinces them of the necessity of utilization of medial facilities. There is a close relationship between utilization and education. Let us first take an example of the nutritional status among pregnant women (PW) and nursing mothers (NM) as well as pre-school of population. They are exposed to more risks of malnutrition and even premature death. It is generally believed that only rich people can have better nutritional status. There is of course considerable truth in this, so far as quantity of food is concerned. But this is not the whole truth, especially when quality of food is concerned, and also when medical services, during certain critical periods, pregnancy and nursing are concerned. newline