The low-and-middle-income country (LMIC) context is volatile, uncertain and resource-constrained. India, an LMIC, has put up a complex response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using an analytic approach, we have described India’s response to combat the pandemic during the initial months (from 17 January to 20 April 2020). India issued travel advisories and implemented graded international border controls between January and March 2020. By early March, cases started to surge. States scaled up movement restrictions. On 25 March, India went into a nationwide lockdown to ramp up preparedness. The lockdown uncovered contextual vulnerabilities and stimulated countermeasures. India leveraged existing legal frameworks, institutional mechanisms and administrative provisions to respond to the pandemic. Nevertheless, the cross-sectoral impact of the initial combat was intense and is potentially long-lasting. The country could have further benefited from evidence-based policy and planning attuned to local needs and vulnerabilities. Experience from India offers insights to nations, especially LMICs, on the need to have contextualised pandemic response plans.
Breastfeeding during early childhood is vital for survival, growth and development. It confers from physiological to psychological benefits to both child and mother. Breastfeeding also helps to protect children against a variety of acute and chronic disorders. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life with early initiation and continuation of breastfeeding for 2 years or more together with nutritionally-adequate, safe, age-appropriate complementary feeding starting at 6 months. 1 Breast feeding is a universal phenomenon in India, but breast feeding practices are far from optimal because they are influenced by socioeconomic factors, cultural background, psychological status, religious values, illiteracy, ignorance, lack of access to antenatal and ABSTRACT Background: Early and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is recognized as one of the most effective interventions for child survival particularly to address childhood morbidity and mortality. In spite of the countless benefits, the prevalence of EBF in India, according to the NFHS-3 (2005-2006), at 6 months was only 46.4%. Constraints to EBF are breastfeeding problems, delivery by caesarean section, perceived or real breast milk insufficiency, resumption of official work by the mother, and cultural practices. The objective of the study was to assess current breastfeeding practices of mothers having children less than 6 months of age and to assess the correct positioning, attachment and effective suckling as practiced by these mothers. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was done in urban field practice area of a medical college in Central Gujarat from August 2015 to September 2015. Thirty two mother-infant units were observed for baby"s position, attachment and effective suckling using standard IMNCI guideline. Data thus collected were analysed using Microsoft Excel. Results: Out of the criteria for correct attachment, only two children fulfilled all 4 criteria which were classified as having "good attachment". The assessment for proper positioning revealed that only around 13% infants fulfilled all 4 criteria for good positioning. Almost half of the infants were suckling effectively. Conclusions: Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that each mother should be observed for mother"s and infant"s positioning and attachment at the onset of breastfeeding and if needed given counselling on correct breastfeeding practices.
Background: In a global context, induced abortion is restricted by law and even criminalized in many countries, where as in India abortion is legal but largely unsafe and unavailable. The medical reasons for induced abortion are limited and constitute a small proportion of all abortion cases. Induced abortion for social reasons is spreading all over the globe, one of the major reasons being sex selective abortion. Abortion is used in many countries as a means of family planning replacing contraception. Objective: To study trends of induced abortions among married women of reproductive age group. Materials and Methods: Study was conducted among 500 married women of reproductive age group residing in urban and rural areas of Jamnagar district from October 2010 to October 2012. A predesigned questionnaire was used to elicit information related to abortion. Verbal informed consent was taken from the participants. Result: Women of 13.4% had a history of abortion, of that 49 (73.13%) were induced and 18 (26.87%) were spontaneous. Of the induced abortions, in 36.73% cases, the reason was family completed; followed by 20.41%, 16.33%, and 14.29% cases due to contraceptive failure, for birth spacing, and for medical advice, respectively. Six (12.24%) women had gone for an abortion because the sex of the child was female. In almost one-third of cases, both husband and wife acted as decision maker. Conclusion: Many women seek abortion services to limit family size or space the next pregnancy which highlight the importance of improving the access to quality family planning services. Women have very little say in reproductive and sexual health decisions, including abortion-related decisions, so women should have the rights to take decision regarding her own health.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.