Even though sanitation was es

A preference for sons or for more sons than daughters has been documented in several countries in the world.

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.

The expectant and lactating mothers are considered as nutritionally vulnerable group especially in the developing countries of the world. Due to nursing process mothers are subjected to nutritional stresses.

In the last decade, several international and national movements have focused their attention, on the long neglected areas of women's reproductive health.

Breastfeeding and lactational amenorrhoea play a unique role in child health, birth spacing and fertility regulation.

The National Commission for Women Act, 1990, established the National Commission for Women (NCW) in India to safeguard and promote women's rights and address issues of gender equality.