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.

Patharia, a village-situated in the Bundhelkund region is stark contrast to other villages. Inhabited by the Bedia tribe, a part of the vimukta jati where adult members in the family never worked and depended solely on the earnings of the young girl involved in prostitution.

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

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

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).

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

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.