In recent years there has been a growing concern in many countries, including India, that public health and family planning programs have placed insufficient emphasis on the quality of their services (Ickis 1992; Khan et al. 1994; Mensch 1993; Miller et al. 1991).

Sterilization for men and women is the most commonly used contraceptive method both in India at large and in Uttar Pradesh.

Sterilization is the most popular method of contraception in India. The 1992-93 National Family Health Survey found that of the 36.2 percent of eligible couples using any modern method, most (30.7 percent) had been sterilized and only 5.5 percent were using temporary methods (IIPS 1995).

The notion of quality in the public health system is becoming increasingly an issue for policymakers and planners in India. The Eighth Five-Year Plan identified the poor quality of family welfare services as one of the factors

Despite its many advantages, the employment of women in economic activity in India has been associated with increased mortality for infants and young children. Simultaneously, narrower gender differentials in child mortality among employed women have been noted.

The women's health movement in India today is fast gaining momentum, although there continues to be a vast gap between ground realities and women's aspirations. Women's groups are extremely active and are working towards the betterment of health care services nationwide.

The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994 reiterated the need for appropriate health care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and produce a healthy infant.

In a vast, multi-ethnic, multi-religious country like India, it is to be expected that we have several world-views operating at the same time in people's search for health and healing.

The Shodhini experience has been able to draw upon a range of disciplines in an attempt to develop a woman-centered health care alternative.

Cancer of the cervix is the most prevalent form of cancer in developing countries, and accounts for 25 to 50 per cent of all cancers occurring in Indian women.