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.
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.
In these words, Ayurved, the ancient Indian medical science, describes "safe motherhood" Thus, "Motherhood is the basis of family life which, in turn, is the backbone of all the orders of society. Hence, family life remains protected if the woman is safe and protected."
Breast-feeding is the proud privilege of every mother. It gives her an opportunity to fondle her little one with tender care and looks forward to his growth and development with high expectations.
Every young girl dreams of becoming a mother after marriage. She looks forward to this period with the utmost hope and joy to see that her child develops well in her womb, has no birth defects and grows up well, so that she can be a proud mother of that child.
Otempora! O mores! This cri decoeur will perhaps be evoked in those reading the spate of reports lately, on surreptitious "trials" on the non-surgical sterilization of women with quinacrine, being carried out by NG0s and private doctors in a host of places in the country.
The currently available methods of fertility regulation do not meet all the varied needs of women and men in differing geographical, cultural and religious settings and at different times of their reproductive lives.
As with Bhanwari Devi, gross injustice was committed in the Roop Kanwar sati case, when yet another session court in Rajasthan, acquitted all 32 of the accused in October last year.
In recent years, there has been increased recognition of the scope and significance of gynaecological problems experienced by poor women in developing countries.