A Study on Impact of Demographic Profile on Maternity Care among Tribals of Western Ghats- with special reference to The Nilgiris and Anaimali Hills Province

The tribal communities live inside the Reserved Forests, in the vicinity in fringes and outside and are also called 'forest dwellers'. Their socio-cultural life is centered on nature. The tribal population is identified as the aboriginal inhabitants of our country. They are seen in almost every State of India. In our country, known for the extreme poverty of the masses, the tribals constitute the core of the poor. Poverty, poor health and sanitation, illiteracy and other social problems among the tribals are exerting a dragging effect on the Indian economy. The health status of the Indian women is extremely low; this is all the more ironic since the primary caregivers of a household's health are women. It may be mentioned that health related studies among the tribal population are found to be limited, most of the available studies being fragmentary in nature without an adequate sample size and standard methodology. There is paucity of studies on many issues affecting the health status of tribal women. Tribal women in India have specific problems, some of these are built-in problems of these tribal communities and some are imposed upon them, which jeopardize their overall development and progress inclusive of their health. In order to improve the health status of the tribal women, the health care delivery system should be designed for each specific needs and problems by ensuring their personal involvement. This study seeks to find out the effect of socioeconomics characteristics to nutritional knowledge, attitude and practices among tribal pregnant women. In the above context, this study investigates the socio economic profile and maternity care practices among the tribal women in Western Ghats of Nilgiris and Anaimali Hills province with reference to the above mentioned objectives.