tailieunhanh - Women of the World Women’'s Health in India

Participants should be informed that they are free to withdraw from the research at any time. Participants should be informed of the degree of confidentiality that will be maintained in the study. Informed consent of parents or guardians and, where practical, of children should be obtained in research involving children. | WID 98-3 Women of the World Women s Health in India By Victoria A. Velkoff and Arjun Adlakha International Programs Center Issued December 1998 India is one of the few countries in the world where women and men have nearly the same life expectancy at birth. The fact that the typical female advantage in life expectancy is not seen in India suggests there are systematic problems with women s health. Indian women have high mortality rates particularly during childhood and in their reproductive years. The health of Indian women is intrinsically linked to their status in society. Research on women s status has found that the contributions Indian women make to families often are overlooked and instead they are viewed as economic burdens. There is a strong son preference in India as sons are expected to care for parents as they age. This son preference along with high dowry costs for daughters sometimes results in the mistreatment of daughters. Further Indian women have low levels of both education and formal labor force participation. They typically have little autonomy living under the control of first their fathers then their husbands and finally their . Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration BUREAU OF THE CENSUS sons Chatterjee 1990 Desai 1994 Horowitz and Kishwar 1985 The World Bank 1996 . All of these factors exert a negative impact on the health status of Indian women. Poor health has repercussions not only for women but also their families. Women in poor health are more likely to give birth to low-weight infants. They also are less likely to be able to provide food and adequate care for their children. Finally a woman s health affects the household economic well-being as a woman in poor health will be less productive in the labor force. Figure 1. Percent Distribution of Contraceptive Users by Method 1992-93 Note Percentages do not add to 100 due to rounding. Source International Institute for Population Sciences 1995 While women in India