The body with head injuries was noticed lying on the outskirts of Angadi Chittampalli village by some local residents, who alerted the police.

In the absence of a basic questioning of women's status and role in society, birth control, abortions-and even maternal health care end up merely replacing an old set of traditions with new ones.

India probably is the only nation in the world which exclusively enshrines female deities in artistically built temples. The Meenakshi temple at Madurai, Ambabai temple at Kolhapur and the Shantadurga and Mahalaxmi temples at Goa are ample proof of the Hindu reverence for female deities.

Breast-feeding is the most important form of infant nutrition. Unfortunately there has been a steady decline in breast-feeding practices in the post industrialized era. Breast milk substitutes, a major threat to breast-feeding, are indeed a big business.

As we stand at the threshold of the new reproductive health approach, there is growing recognition that a woman's health and that of her unborn foetus has a profound impact on the overall health status of the community.