Beliefs and Practices in Women Health
Beliefs and Practices in Women Health
• Ramaiah Bheenaveni *
Rural women's health is an infinitely wide topic. Many Indian women have come from circumstances in which women have limited way to healthcare. Traditionally, there has been bias towards women in decision-making; way to resources such as edible, pedagogy and health care; job opportunities; and in child-rearing and parenting. However, women's health in rural areas affects everything in their environment from their families to their economies and vice versa. A woman's health, principally amid the penniless and illiterate, is often disregarded no fair by her home yet by the matron herself. She is educated not to complain and whether she does then she is directed both to use condiments in the kitchen or attempt belief healing.
Man is peerless in that he has a distinct cultural environment of his own. This includes all the conditions in which males are born, brought up, live, work, procreate and perish. Culture as an environment is profoundly narrated to the health of humans. It includes patterns of social organizations designed to regulate a particular society; one can understand the conduct of people belonging to assorted sections and portend how an individual of a particular section will react in a given position. With our knowledge of health, the treatment of ailments among inexperienced peoples appears to be curious since they frequently emulate practices of appealing, dressing of amulets or consulting an exorcist who recites decisive verbal formula. Hence, we can mention that beliefs and cultural practices are predominately playing premonitory characters in the person health more peculiarly in the health of women.
Many rural people did not know about the services set up for them at sub-centres and PHC by the government for they did not see anybody testify of these services being invested for them. As a part of the awareness programmes,
mbt walking shoes, the health workmen (ANM) have been organizing to several exposure trips by the villages. It was there that the women were accused approximately the specifics of various services supposed to be made obtainable to them. This encouraged some of them to inquire questions and report on the situation in their PHC. They annotated that although a nurse did visit their countryside it was not a daily visit,
best koss headphones, nor did she go beyond a certain point in the village, and certainly did not take a round of the village. They made a show of act their obligation by providing nominal services.
A kind of elements, including an older population, a restricted supply of health attention providers, and further distances from health concern resources may contribute to special health concerns as human in non-metropolitan areas. Access to health attention and social services are fussy issues for rural women.
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual is convinced of the fact of a proposition. Like the relative notions fact, knowledge, and sagacity, there is no precise meaning of belief on which savants accede, but rather numerous theories and proceeded debate about the nature of belief 1.
The cultural phenomenon of social organization, according to Giger and Davidhizar (2004), includes groups in the social environment that affect cultural development and identification. The family, an important facet of the social organization phenomenon, strongly influences cultural action through a process of socialization or enculturation of kid and group members (Giger & Davidhizar; Niska, 1999). These studied cultural behaviors guide individuals through life situations, accidents and health practices. Understanding family from a cultural outlook is a significant element in providing nursing care to Mexican-Americans since Giger and Davidhizar identify the family as being maximum merits in this mores.
Environmental control is defined by Giger and Davidhizar (2004) as the ability of humans within a particular cultural heritage to intend activities that control their environment as well as their perception of ones ability to direct factors in the environment. Kuipers (1999) dispute of this model, in relation to Mexican-American culture, accentuated the construct of environmental control with a focus on locus-of-control, health beliefs, and people medicine. Locus-of-control explains the way in which individuals,
babolat xs 109 discou, within their cultural environment, discern their competence to control what happens to them and to their health. Health may be viewed as being dependent on outside forces or their own deeds (Bundek et al., 1993). Beliefs about health and illness, which are components of environmental control, influence health practices, use of health resources, and a persons response to experiences of both health and illness (Giger & Davidhizer, 2004; Northam, 1996). A third component of environmental control, folk medication, includes alternative therapies such as using herbs and teas or visiting a cultural folk healer.
Objectives:
1. Exploration of women beliefs on health, risk and their relationship to lifestyles;
2. Elicitation of their views across a range of health-related behaviours and practices, especially puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and child rearing, and appraisal of the latent for the assured promotion of women health in these and other areas of her ######ual health.
3. Identification of the sources of message and influences on the development of health beliefs through women, particularly with adore to general factors in attitudes to risk-taking along a number of health beliefs and practices.
4. To converge on what women themselves know and want to know, including the salience of health, and the relevance of health-related knowledge in their lives
Hypothesis:
1. There is a positive relationship between social beliefs and cultural practices of a given society
2. Positive relationship may be observed among the social beliefs and cultural practices and various other factors such as caste, religion, social and orthodox customs in society
3. The explanation for the persistence of belief systems is that people remain committed to them, but for this commitment to last long, the belief system have to be verified
Research Design:
A quantitative and qualitative study, establishing above our before work in this area, concerning the perception, outlooks, beliefs and practices of petticoat children and young women to health, hazard and lifestyles. A guiding methodological conviction underpinning the study was the evolution of a acute research chart for rather than aboard women: a learn grounded not simply in what women know or need to know, but also in what they ambition to know and feel to be essential in the environment of their daily lives. The usages enabling these principles to be taken ahead are depicted beneath.
a) Area of the Study:
The Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh consists of ten districts that Hyderabad, Ranagareddy, Mahabubnagar, Medak, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Nalgonda, and Khammam. From this region, the village Ramchandrapur in Koheda Mandal of Karimnagar area has been randomly chose as an area of the study.
b) Universe & Sampling:
According to 2001 census, the village Ramchandrapur has an approximate population of 1840 who from approximately 550 families. This village has a primary health median (PHC), but absences a important hospital within a range of 35 kms. And this village has been selected as macrocosm for this study.
So for this study, the researcher adopted stratified-proportionate irregular method of sampling based on caste composition of the villagers and selected the respondents from the families said in the habitation catalogue of Ramchandrapur. This village population data was collected from Supraja Seva Samithi, a voluntary organization, which is working in the region for the last 10 years in the fields of health, education and environmental conservation. The account consists of various caste grouping and from which proportionate stratified samples were selected. Then a catalogue of about 181 respondents was prepared for data collection. Therefore, it is obvious that an attempt has been made to present a general picture of community data and on the basis of which, views and attitudes of the respondents were taken into attention.
C) Tools of Data Collection:
As the research is qualitative and quantitative, non-participant detection and interview schedule was accepted for the collection of basic data. The aspects that will cover in the interview timetable were defined under two parts, one is for socio-economic and cultural status of respondents such as name, ######, old, social status, education, religion, income, nature and type of the house, etc. and the other fhardly evercio-cultural beliefs and practice patterns in health and the related treatment of the villagers.
D) Analysis and interpretation of data:
After arranging the collected data through tabulation and classification, they were analyzed and interpreted in the socio-cultural context so as to give a scientific root to the study. Although statistical methods like frequencies, ratios, method, standard deviations, t-test, chi-squire and ANOVA have been used in the study, they were applied in a pertinent path.
Findings:
Socio-Economic Profile:
During the field work, observed that 22 castes were appeared and most of the respondent belongs to the BC castes like Yadava, Gouda, Munnuru Kapu, Vishwa Brahmin, Mudiraj and a meaningless number of people belongs to services caste like Mangali, Chakali, Mera and so on. A considerable amount of people belongs to SC community i.e. Mala and Madigas. Only a few respondents belong to ST (Erukala) community. Out of the 181 respondents, 55 percentage are male and 45 percent female,. This research is carried out with almost all the equal four fold age groups of respondents. Thus, it is noted that age group is radiated in this study. More number of respondents i.e. 91% belongs to Hindu religion and 5% are Muslim. Nearly 4% of the respondents belong to Christianity. It is also certified that common phenomena of religion combination in India.
In this village, a majority of the respondents i.e. 82 (45%) are illiterates. The afterward more number of respondents have studied up to primary and secondary level i.e. 24 (13%). There are 21 (12%) of the respondents can read and jot. A significant number of respondents i.e. 18 (10%) claimed to have studied up to institute level while the small number of people who have studied up to professional level, technical level and others stands at 7 (4%), 3 (2%) and 2 (1%) respectively. The discoveries reveal that more number of the respondents i.e. 55 (30.4%) are labourers and one-fourths of the respondents i.e. 45 (24.9%) are engaging in the ploughing. On the whole 38(21%) are chronic their caste occupation while 20 (11%) and 17 (9.4%) respondents are doing other occupation and brought up into the service sector respectively. Only a few of the respondents i.e. 6 (3.3%) are carrying out business.
It is also noted that a majority of the respondents i.e. 84.21% are living under the tiled houses and a significant number of the respondents i.e. 15.79% posses R.C.C houses. A substantial number of the BC community respondents i.e. 75% owned the tiled house and rest of them i.e. 14.29% have R.C.C. houses and 8.04% own asbestos domed houses. Most of the SC respondents i.e. 91.49% are residing beneath the tiled houses while only 8.51% consist R.C.C. houses. Among the ST respondents, 33.33% have R.C.C., tiled house and thatched house equally. Regarding the proceeds, fewer than 24% of the respondents acquire Rs. 1501 2000 per month. Almost equal number i.e. 22.7 and 21.5 % of the respondents acquire below Rs. 500 and among Rs. 1001 and 1500 respectively. A significant number of respondents i.e. 20 % getting monthly earnings is in the range of Rs. 501 1000 while only 12.7% demanded their income was over Rs. 2000.
This village consist very good pregnant lands, There is just below half of the respondents i.e. 84 (46.4%) have not possess any land on their own. There are 35 (19.3%) of the respondents possess land between 1- 2.19 acres. A significant number of respondents i.e. 28 (15.5%) and 20 (11.04%) are having land between 2.20 4.39 acres and 5 9.39 acres respectively. A considerable number of respondents i.e. 14 (7.7%) are owned land 10 and above acres.
Social Dogmatism on Menstruation
Patriarchal societies have tended to control women by first announcing menarche (the onset of menstrual cycle in a young girl) to the earth in an apparently celebratory mainstream while thereafter attempting to control the implied fertility and ######ual power by monthly rites of pollution, restriction and solitude of the menstruating woman.
The various names for menstruation or 'periods' point to its polluting quality. For instance in Telugu, it is shrieked samurta or peddamanshi meaning attaining maturity. Menstrual blood is deemed to be polluting. There are varying restrictions put on a girl due to this belief such as not touching people or hanging washed raiment out to dry; not touching certain flowering plants lest they dead or not fruit; sleeping on a jute bag or woollen blanket away from others. A woman cannot touch her child during menstruation. If she has to, the child must first be unclothed entirely or made to wear silken clothes. Visiting or touching images of gods, temples, religious scriptures is also prohibited. A panic is inculcated in the adolescent that she will sin if she damages these taboos. Restrictions are also placed on diet. These pollution taboos outcome in many women obtaining an enforced rest for at least these 3 days of the month since they are barred from carrying out their natural activities.
Not only is menstrual blood supposed to be sordid, but malign also. A menstruating girl should not let her eclipse fall on a child with measles lest the child rotate blind. The secondhand menstrual fabric also possesses an malign quality. If men discern the cloth, dry or otherwise, they could go blind. If a cow were to swallow the cloth she would curse the girl with infertility. In villages in A.P., women do not discard their menstrual cloth-they either flame it or bury it.
There appear to be some similarities between Hindus and Muslims regarding the practice of some of these rituals. Among Muslims, the menstruating woman should not touch divine writings lest they become impure. Converted Christians follow, nevertheless to a inferior degree, the rituals of their original castes. The taboos and rituals apparently devalue. Women's reproductive powers. The notion of women being polluted and unclean can be ascribed to patriarchal control of women's reproductive powers. While the woman fulfils a vital social role of giving birth to progeny through her biological reproductive capacity, she is, at the same time, isolated during menstruation.
Cultural Practices of Puberty
Most women do not know about the physiology of menstruation and therefore the first experience of menstruation is filled with fear, disgrace and hatred. In some areas such as in rural areas of A.P. the girl is sometimes told to dub three or 4 dots of menstrual blood or mustard fuel on the walls and paint a line between the second and third or third and fourth; it is believed that she will finish her menstruation within two and a half or three and a half days in all subsequent periods.
Elaborate rituals are performed in south Indian states-as well as in numerous portions of north India-at the attack of menstruation. The onset of puberty is traditionally viewed in terms of the girl's emergent ######uality and prospective motherhood. The pubescent girl is given an elaborate ritual bath, after a massage with turmeric and vermillion. The Mudiraj communities in A.P. seclude the pubescent girl for 21 days among the house, away from the man stare. The room in which she is secluded is separated with an iron rod and a launch is reserved often burning during this phase. Fire signifies naturalness and also keeps away daiyyam or witches and evil spirits. The girl is tainted and accordingly prohibited from touching people and additional people are not allowed to touch her. In case of default, a bath is necessity for ritual purification.
The Impact of the Food Habits on Women Health:
Although women are all but marginalized and forsaken in narrative to the quality and quantity of food, certain causes in a woman's life are celebrated with the attempting of a variety of nutritious foods specially ready for her. Almost every community has the practice of feeding a girl on her first menstruation with savory and nutritive foods, with the time of seclusion for the period ranging between 9 to 21 days. In parts of A.P., sweets made of jaggery, groundnuts, sesame, fenugreek, wheat flour and sorgum are given to the girl. Menstruation for the first time in the house of one's in-laws is also considered very auspicious in all regions of A.P. and is celebrated with gaiety.. The motif seems to be to give the girl 'rich', that is, strength-giving foods as well as both 'hot' and 'cold' foods.
Certain 'hot' foods (like jaggery) and 'cold' foods (like tamarind and lemons) are taboo as it is believed that the girl will suffer from menstrual ache. 'Hot' foods may cause heavy bleeding and 'cold' foods may reason severe menstrual pain. Special foods are understood to recompense for the detriment of blood, regularise the menstrual cycle and stream, strengthen her reproductive apparatuses and generally contribute to her fertility.
Work Prohibition of Pregnant Women:
It is also observed during the fieldwork that about always the respondents have revealed that prohibition of work is compulsory when a women pregnancy but this notion is varies to one community to different. The higher social status communities are not allowed to execute the works even servant works also from the early months to afterward late months of maternity. Whereas weaker partition women execute the annual servant actives some of them perform field activates but it is only in the early months. They should also take recess in the late months of pregnancy and early months of maternity.
Encourage and Disencourage Food Items During the Pregnancy of Women:
During pregnancy and lactation, many traditional communities across the country restrict a woman's food intake. It is believed that if a pregnant woman eats too many, the foetus will not have room to push. The stomach is supposed to contain either the food and the foetus and the latter's space needs should be given greater prerogative. Another reason for controlling a pregnant woman's food consumption is perhaps that excess heaviness would depress the productivity of her work in the fields and approximately the house. A widely common practice all overIndia is shrimanta. In the seventh month of pregnancy special rituals are performed and alter types of sweets are prepared and given to the parents-to-be. The purpose is to give moral patronize and encouragement to the pregnant woman and commemorate her finishing of having approached close full-term. The candy are generally made of wheat flour, jaggery, ghee, fenugreek and dry fruits. In the final stages of pregnancy, the pregnant woman is supposed to cat these foods custom each day. This is a nice custom because it provides the calories and protein needed for the rapidly growing foetus in the last trimester of pregnancy.
Food Items Encourage % Disencourage %
1.Milk 173 95.5 8 4.4
2.Green leafs 148 81.7 33 18.2
3.Toddy 80 44.1 101 55.8
4.Non-Veg 132 72.9 49 27
5.Papaya --- --- 181 100
6.Potato 49 27 132 72.9
7.Brinjal 50 27.6 131 72.3
The above chart explains the villagers perceptions on encourage and disencourage food items during the pregnancy of women. The data shows that there are 173 (95.5%) of the respondents have stated that they are encouraging breast and its related food items and only insignificant number of respondents i.e.8 (4.4%) are not encouraging the food items of milk. As many as 148 (81.7%) of them revealed that they are encouraging green leafs and rest of the significant number of respondents i.e. 33 (18.2%) are not interested to give the green leafs to the pregnants. Interestingly the data depicts that more than half of the respondents i.e. 101 (55.8%) have said that they are encouraging toddy and 80 (44.1%) of them are not giving taking toddy. A substantial number of the respondents i.e. 132 (72.9%) have expressed that they are encouraging the consummation of non-vegetarian foods like mutton, chicken and eggs. The total number of respondents is practicing the prohibition of papaya consummation during the pregnancy. All most all equal number of respondents i.e. 49 (27%) and 50 (27.6%) have revealed that Potato and Brinjal are encouraged food items and as similar 132 (72.9%) and 131 (72.3%) of them are not encouraging the food items of Potato and Brinjal.
The data regarding Caring of Pregnant Women among the Villagers clarifies the pursuance of the opinion of several communities respondents such as Yadava 14 (7.7%), Gouda 3 (1.7%), Munurukapu 11 (6.1%), Oddera 6 (3.3%), Vishwa Brahmin 5 (2.8%), Mala 25 (13.8%), Madiga 21 (11.6%),
lady gaga monster, Padmashali 7 (3.9%), every 3 (1.7%) of Mangali, Dudekula and Erukala, Kumari 2 (1.1%) and every 1 (0.6%) of Pusala, Mera, Chindi and Dakkali have stated that family and their kins are taking care of their pregnant women. In this species the aggregate numbers of SC and ST communities are arose because of less financial status and peer group pressure. A majority number of working caste like Yadava, Munnurukapu, Oddera, Padmashali, Dudekula and Kummari are appeared. However, these communities people are visiting either government or private hospital for retard up their health conditions during early pregnant hood as well as ahead delivery. One more interesting object that the caste Mangali itself is traditional birth waiter community in this village so we may think them in feedback to this interrogate that they are catching care about pregnant as a traditional birth attendant and as a family. On the entire 3 (1.7 %) of Yadava, 2 (1.1 %) Gouda, 1 (0.6 %) of Munnurukapu and Kummari, 8 (4.4 %) of Chakali, 5 (2.7%) of Dudekula and the total number of Mudiraj 7 (4%) community respondent have expressed that traditional birth attendant are catching care about pregnant of their communities. It is important to memorandum that previous these caste people took care about pregnant but as yetly they are seeking the help of traditional birth attendant by cause of saving of time. These variety of villagers always busy in their routine work if they contain in the caring process they should be lost more time in order to money also. The data also describes that all most all the respondents of Deshmukh 3 (1.6%), Vysya 4 (2.2%) and Vaisnava 5 (2.7%) communities have revealed that health personnel or ANMs are looking after the pregnant women. It may due to the higher awareness regarding health and private prejudice or prejudices of health personnel or ANMs who are amused to associate with the higher social status communities.
On account of desirable birthplace; the responses of majority respondents i.e. 112 (62%) is themerge from at the traditional birth attendant is more desirable. As many as number of respondent i.e. 36 (20%) have revealed that they prepared birthplace is Government Hospitals and the reaming respondents i.e. 32 (18%) have expressed their prescience that Private Hospital are desirable to give the birth. The bunch analysis of data also provides the social status wise explanation that there are 7 (4%) of OC respondents, 19 (10.5%) of BCs and 10 (5.5%) of SCs are interested to go to the government hospitals. There are 10 (5.5%) of OCs and 23 (12.7%) of BCs were interested on Privates hospitals. Among the reaming of categories, the more number of BC respondents i.e. 70 (38.5%), 37 (20.5%) and the total number of ST community respondents i.e. 3 (1.7%) and only few 2(1.1%) of OC respondent are still interested to give birth under the observation or treatment of traditional birth attendant.
Practices after Delivery:
Women underfed themselves during pregnancy and strove for a small child to assure simple delivery. Babies were not to be bosom fed on first three days and baby-clothes were not used till a etiquette (purudu/Naming) on 9th day to 21st day. Mothers could not depart the delivery room till that day. To minimize the restroom needs, they severely narrow their intake of fluids and food during first week after delivery. Mothers did not wash hands properly; their clothes and textile were often dirty. Newborn babies, even if sick, were not moved out of home. The usual explanations for the ailments in neonates were evil eye, witch craft, or ill effects of foods dined by mommy.
The practice of breast-feeding female children for shorter periods of period reflects the muscular desire fjust aboutns. If women are particularly restless to have a male child, they may deliberately try to convert fertile afresh as soon as possible after a female is born. Conversely, women may consciously seek to lest another pregnancy after the birth of a male child in order to give most consideration to the new son
Summary and Conclusions:
Due to the orthodoxical and traditional dogma, majority numbers of respondent are not possess appropriate notion on Womens health. In adding to supernatural beliefs about what brings on disease, women also have some beliefs about the non-physical causes of ill-health. The most commonly base syndrome was 'weakness' which consists of labor, body rankle, ghabrahat (a generic term used for solicitude, fear, restlessness, trepidation, etc.), pallor, low backache and burning of palms and feet. Thus penury, illiteracy and social backwardness complete the subordination of women. In reality, therefore, most women carry a tremendous degree of mental distress and anguish due to the unsuitable beliefs and practices.
However, practices existed to over come or apt tune with the problems, which may be physical, psychological, cultural and environmental. Subsequently practices are to be reinforce in mandate to persevering for the beliefs. Once, belief namely to be got its own identity; the subsistence of train should automatically come by the deeds of the sufferers or fanatics. Sometimes belief might be corrode due to the commerce, spend efficacious and the rationalism should also vanish the irrational beliefs so that we can eventually conclude beliefs exist along the practices which may takes location to over come the problems or to accommodate with the nature.
References:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief
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3. Spector, R. E. (2004): Cultural variety in health & illness (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Health publication..
4. Bundek, N. I., Marks, G., & Richardson, J. I. (1993): Role of health locus of control faiths in sarcoma screening of elderly Hispanic women. Health Psychology, 12(3), 193-1999.
5. Pachter, L. M. (1994) Culture and clinical care: Folk cancer beliefs and behaviors and their implications for health care distribution. Journal of the American Medical Association, 271(9), 690-694.
6. Roberson,
nike shoes discount, M. H. (1987): “Folk health beliefs of health professional”. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 9(2), 257-263.
7. Treistman, J. (1988): “Health beliefs in socio-cultural perspective”. In G. Caliandro & B. L. Judkins (Ed.), Primary nursing practice (pp. 119-133). Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company.
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