Pregnancy Practices in India

Choudhry, U.K. (July 2006). Traditional Practices of Women From India: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Newborn Care. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing, 26(5), 533-539.

The intent of the article is to help Western neo-natal nurses better understand their Indian client's perspective on birth. However, the generality of the Indian cultural practices surrounding Indian pregnancy, childbirth and newborn care are quite useful when implementing and/or improving policy on child nutrition. Motherhood in India is considered a "socially powerful role," where most, if not all, women are expected to marry and have children. During the entire childbearing period women are highly dependent on a community composed of elders, family members and midwives and are not likely to seek professional healthcare. Further, there are still many cultural superstitions such as basing a healthy pregnancy on foods categorized as hot and cold and the ritual of burying of placenta post-birth. Further, the lower socio-economic classes often practice a belief called "eating down" where the pregnant woman does not eat a sufficient amount of food during pregnancy for fear of a difficult pregnancy. Children of high-birth-weights are presumed to result in more difficult deliveries; therefore, demand more expensive medical attention which a family cannot afford. Unfortunately, children of low-birth-weights have a higher infant mortality rate. Delaying breastfeeding (24 hours to 1 week) is also common practice. Many supplement breastfeeding with sugar/honey water-based liquids. These supplements also contribute to the risks of a low-birth-weight.

As pregnancy practices may appear social, it also influences India’s economy. Much of India’s fiscal budget is focused on improving healthcare. This money is often highly emphasized in rural regions, where healthcare facilities still lack adequate resources and are not made readily accessible to the population. The result of little modern healthcare and minute health education for pregnant women is congruent to lower child nutrition and higher infant-mortality-rates. For India to be putting so much money into solving its issue of healthcare, one would hope that you could see better results. Unfortunately most India regions still face high infant mortality rates with over 50% of India’s children still considered malnourished. A sign that there is still a lot more work to be done.