This monograph is guided by f

The existing structural nature of women's work (domestic as well as non-domestic) has severe built-in hazards for women (reproductive and otherwise) which no amount of first rate quality of care, total coverage and/or access to health services alone can deal with.

In many developing countries, women's activities, traditionally confined to the household, have changed over time.

The health of the general population as well as specific groups (infants, women, etc) has for long been an important concern for development studies.

In 1991, an article on the Maternity Care Program in Matlab, Bangladesh, reported a substantial decline in direct obstetric deaths in the intervention area, but not in the control area. The decline was attributed primarily to the posting of midwives at the village level.