While mo

A confidential system of enquiry into maternal mortality, based on that used in England and Wales, was introduced in Malaysia in 1991 with a view to identifying deficiencies in care and recommending remedial measures.

Infertility has been relatively neglected as both a health problem and a subject for social science research in South Asia, as in the developing world more generally. The general thrust of both programmes and research has been on the correlates of high fertility and its regulation rather than on

The two issues in the field of fertility that have received widest publicity in the recent times in India are the rapidly growing number of clinics that are performing amniocentesis, which is followed by female foeticide and the birth of a test-tube baby in Bombay.

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.

Maternal death has been recognized as an area of maternity care that requires urgent attention. The most striking feature about maternal health today is the extraordinary difference in maternal death rates between developed and developing countries.

Every minute of every day a woman dies as a result of pregnancy or childbirth. The loss per annum of 500,000 women is mind boggling. A maternal death is the outcome of a chain of events and disadvantages throughout a woman's life.