Reproductive Performance Trends Among Villagers of Birsingha Gram, Ghatal Under Midnapore District, in West Bengal, India

Cell & Cellular Life Sciences Journal MEDWIN PUBLISHERS ISSN: 2578-4811 Committed to Create Value for Researchers Reproductive Performance Trends among Villagers of Birsingha Gram, Ghatal under Midnapore District, in West Bengal, India Abhishikta Ghosh Roy*, Banerjee B, Naaz F and Behera B Research Article Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Culture, India Volume 6 Issue 1 Received Date: January 17, 2021 *Corresponding author: Abhishikta Ghosh Roy, Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Published Date: February 17, 2021 Culture, India, Email: [email protected] DOI: 10.23880/cclsj-16000159 Abstract prime concern of research for medical and social researchers. The status of health among the rural population of India needs attention,Health is consideredand under this to bebackdrop the most the significant present study factor has that aimed triggers at exploring building the of reproductive a nation. Factors performance related among to health villagers are the of Birsingha Gram, Ghatal under Midnapore District, in West Bengal, India. We tried to understand some of the determinants of reproductive health such as: Age at menarche, marriage, conception and childbirth as well as desired no. of children, gender preference and other health care practices. All these factors affect women’s reproductive health, which in turn affects the well- being of their families and overall economic growth of the nation. A total of 300 responses were taken into consideration for the present study. Keywords: Reproductive Health; Infant Mortality Rate; Antenatal Care; Asthma; Breastfeeding; Colostrum Abbreviations: IMR: Infant Mortality Rate; FGDs: Focus This implies that people should have the availability of Group Discussions; IDIs: In depth Interviews; TT: Tetanus the information and access to safe, effective, affordable and Toxoid; IFA: Iron Folic Acid; EPI: Expanded Program on acceptable methods of birth control, access to affordable Immunization; SDV: Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery. and appropriate health care services of sexual, reproductive medicine and implementation of health education programs Introduction to stress the importance of women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth could provide couples with the Today, health is described in a way that it encompasses best chance of having a healthy infant [4]. It further implies that reproduction is carried to a successful outcome in the Organization and the Lancet, in one compact description. form of infant and child survival, through growth and healthy Itall says three health possible is the definitions, absence of given any disease by the orWorld impairment Health child development. Reproductive fate of a population is and a balanced state that allows the individual to adequately determined by several cultural and socio-economic as cope with all demands of daily life and the individual in turn, well as geographical factors. The focus of the conventional establishes equilibrium within himself and between himself demographic literature was majorly on the behavioral and his socio-physical environment [1,2]. The overall health of a population is affected by many factors. Reproductive the functioning of households, and the distribution of resources,mechanisms that which consequently influence affectreproductive the well-being health, ofincluding women given by WHO, reproductive health implies that people are and their children. ablehealth to is have an integral a satisfying part andof them. safe Accordingsex life and to that the definitionthey have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, Problems related to reproductive health remain when and how often to do so [3]. the leading cause of ill health and death for women of Reproductive Performance Trends among Villagers of Birsingha Gram, Ghatal under Midnapore Cell Cellular Life Sci J District, in West Bengal, India 2 Cell & Cellular Life Sciences Journal childbearing age worldwide. Impoverished women, Study Participants and Sampling especially those living in developing countries such as India, suffer disproportionately from unintended pregnancies, Prior to the study, all the villagers were introduced maternal death and disability, plethora of sexually with the researchers by the local chiefs and a small group transmitted diseases including HIV, gender-based violence discussion was arranged to introduce the objective of the and other problems related to their reproductive system and study. Amongst 300 informants, female to male ratio was sexual behavior. Education and dwelling places make great predetermined as 1:1. The FGD participants were selected differences in the fertility, fecundity and the Infant Mortality based on sex, age and residence while IDI participants were Rate (IMR) [5]. For example, an educated urbane woman selected based on their knowledge on socio-cultural practices, tends to have a smaller number of children as compared to an religious teaching and their role within the community [8]. uneducated rural woman. Reproductive health of a woman is hugely affected by the fertility rate and spacing among births. Data Collection Studies have shown that the women in the age-group 20-24 We collected data from 300 respondents using an open- ended semi-structured questionnaire to understand of use of various methods of contraception’s are best known participants’ knowledge of reproductive health, fertility and alternative.years old have To obtainthe highest an acceptable age-specific standard fertility of rate good [6]. health The other reproductive practices. Discussions and interviews amongst the general population of the country, National were conducted in Bengali language as the population was Health Policy in India was established in 1983. Under this mostly comprised of Bengali speaking people and later backdrop the present study has aimed at exploring the translated to English. The FGDs for men and women were reproductive performance among villagers of Birsingha conducted separately given the sensitivity of the research Gram, Ghatal under Midnapore District, in West Bengal, topic. The IDIs were conducted privately as the respondents India. We attempted to know some of the determinants of might shy away from answering sensitive questions [9]. reproductive health such as: Age at menarche, marriage, conception and childbirth as well as desired no. of children, gender preference and other health care practices. All these Ethical Consideration factors affect women’s reproductive health, which in turn A verbal consent was obtained from all the participants affects the well-being of their families and overall economic after informing them about the objective of the study. Due growth of the nation. to the cultural sensitivities and low literacy rate in the population it was adjudged pertinent to procure verbal Methods and Methodology consent and Left thumb impression on the consent forms followed by signature from the researchers verifying that Study Design consent was really taken. We had to include minor’s underage of 18 as child marriage system is prevailing in the area. In Studies have shown that reproductive health care for that case, married adolescents were considered as mature/ women-as well as men-would improve in India if health emancipated minors. Thus, their perception regarding care providers included men and marital family members reproductive health in terms of family planning and their in discussions and education about women’s reproductive knowledge about medical services a t their disposal was health issues. Taking this into consideration, we designed impaired to be studied [10]. a qualitative study involving Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and In-depth Interviews (IDIs) among the villagers of Birsingha Gram, Ghatal under Midnapore District, in Data Analysis West Bengal, India to for gain in-depth explanations of We developed an open-ended questionnaire and the prevailing perceptions and practices regarding their collected qualitative data. Then, for the purpose of review reproductive performance and other socio- cultural factors and validation, we prepared a code sheet for collecting quantitative data from FGDs and IDIs. They were then translated verbatim into English. A set of codes were that influencing it [7]. Study Setting developed based on the interview tools and the emerging themes from the discussions. Statistical analysis was done The studied area, Birsingha village, is situated in Ghatal using SPSS and graphs were plotted using Microsoft Excel. Tehsil of West Midnapur district under Burdwan Division in West Bengal, India. The village is situated 13.9km away from sub-district headquarter Ghatal. Midnapur is the Results district headquarter of Birsingha village. As per 2009 stats, Beersingha is the gram panchayat of Birsingha village. The findings from this study identified several key socio- cultural factors influencing reproductive health: age at Abhishikta Ghosh Roy, et al. Reproductive Performance Trends among Villagers of Birsingha Gram, Copyright© Abhishikta Ghosh Roy, et al. Ghatal under Midnapore District, in West Bengal, India. Cell Cellular Life Sci J 2021, 6(1): 000159. 3 Cell & Cellular Life Sciences Journal marriage, age at menarche, conception and child birth, age family formation. Age at marriage is important factor for as fertility preferences, gender dynamics in terms of son the reproductive span of women. The present study on preference,at 1st conception, antenatal age care,at first medicines birth, desired taken, no. non-medical of children Birsinghainfluencing

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