Analysis of three years of data from a malaria clinic operated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in the Government Medical College Hospital in Jabalpur, central India, showed a high malaria prevalence among pregnant women, which was statistically highly significant (P <0.0001) c

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).

Reproductive health services thus imply the enabling of individuals, both males and females, to decide freely and responsibly, the number, spacing and timing of their children. For this they must have the information and the means to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health.

The magnitude of reproductive and sexual health problems in South Asia is daunting. However, an enabling policy environment provides an opportunity to address unmet needs. Neglected reproductive health problems can be effectively addressed through a life-cycle approach.

Health is a major issue in the women's movement, along with the struggle for justice, dignity and equality.

There was a case from Germany in 1960 where a pregnant women named 'Sigi' took the drug - thalidomide - which was advertised as effective, safe, and nonaddictive hypnotic for treatment of her insomnia. She delivered a monster which had no limbs (phocomelia).

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.

The Population Foundation of India has recently published a monograph 'State of India's Population' in which, among other things one finds estimates of the human development index (HDI) the gender related health index (GRHI) and the reproductive health index (RHI).

In l995, nurses and doctors in many of the public maternity ward in the state of Tamil Nadu in India were routinely inserting IUDs immediately following childbirth and abortions, as part of the target-orientated family, planning policy.

A growing recognition that population dynamics, quality of life and women's status are closely inter related argues strongly for a fresh look at India's population program.