Introduction

Reproductive health behaviour includes behaviour related to marriage, family planning practices, breast-feeding, childcare etc. It also considers the age of marriage, general practices of family planning, contraceptives used, and breast-feeding and child care practices.

Marriage

An average tribal women gets married at an early age of 15.5 years and a man marries at 18.3 years on an average according to various statistical data. The important thing is that many of them are not aware about legal age of marriage.

Fertility

Age of marriage affects the fertility of tribal women and thus the reproductive health behaviour in tribals differs from non-tribals. The average number of children tribal women have is 6 out of which 2 die during her lifetime. Some tribals consider children as their assets which leads to high fertility. Having children, especially male children, improves a women’s status in society. Because of this belief 93% of them have more children and thus face moderate to severe anemia and 33 % show evidence of varying degrees of Vitamin A deficiency.[1]

Other factors, which affect fertility of women, are income, occupation, education, family type etc. Generally fertility among tribals is high but varies from one type of tribal community to another; this variation is largely dependent on economic conditions. Variation is greater among older age groups of women than the younger age groups. Age of mother increases the fertility rate and there is direct relation between age at marriage and fertility in all women i.e. tribals as well as non-tribal. [2]

Weight, height, body mass index which affect maternal as well as child health when checked against Indian Council of Medical Research standards, is lower for all categories i.e. pregnant women, non-pregnant women, lactating, and non-lactating women. This low weight causes toxemia, malnutrition, low-birth-weight baby, parental mortality, and poor lactational performance.[3]

Maternal healthcare and childcare is an important aspect of health seeking behaviours, which are largely neglected. [4] Majority of women do not take special care for their food even during pregnancy; this is also one of the factors for low weight babies at the time of birth.

Family-planning

Some studies show that tribals are aware of family planning and they have their own ways for spacing and preventing the pregnancy. Only few i.e. around 13.2% of them use modern contraceptives. Others generally prefer indigenous medicines. Every community or group has one or two women who are knowledgeable in this. They belong to an older age group and prepare medicines from different herbal plants; they also attend deliveries.

The medicines they use are roots, herbs, leaves, and other ethno-medicines. They can be Bengal gram, Menthi leaves, Roots of white yam etc. Along with these traditional methods some of them use modern medicines [2] and accept modernity. Age does not affect acceptance of modernity. However, gender affects acceptance somewhat as men obtain higher ranking in family planning whereas women score higher in childcare and breast feeding areas.

Diseases and Intake of medicines during pregnancy

The intake of iron and vitamin during pregnancy is very low in tribal women. In a study of Kannikar tribal women showed 90% anemia, 30% vitamin A deficiency and 10% niacin deficiency. Thus tribal women show respiratory complaints, gastro-intestinal diseases etc. Adult women shows gynecological complaints and deficiency diseases. [4] Some pregnant tribal women reduced their food intake because of the fear of recurrent vomiting and also to ensure that the baby remains small and the delivery may be easier. They do not consume iron, calcium and vitamins but takes alcohol during pregnancy. The abortion rate is more in tribals since pregnancy by pre-marital sex-relations are not valid. The abortion can be spontaneous or induced. Older women, or the wife of a medicine man generally attempts induced abortions with herbal medicines; they also use modern medicines and practices up to a certain limit and if felt necessity. [2]

Tribal women keep on working even in advanced pregnancy and thus deliveries takes place either at farms or at home. Older women in the community or husband or other women help as attendant during pregnancy or sometime the women herself does everything. Very few of them take help of modern medication facilities.[4] Also it has been observed that approximately 90% of them use a razor blade to cut placental cord after pregnancy. This practice needs to be changed and attempts must be made to make them aware of hygiene and sanitation and to convince them to use modern medications.[5]

Breast-feeding practices

When observing infant feeding practices, it was found that because of many beliefs mothers do not eat some type of nutritious food e.g. green vegetables, lady’s finger etc. Most of them continue breast-feeding up to 2 years of age of child. Many of them also consume some special food items for increased lactation such as fermented rice, turmeric soup, papaya, sathavari.[6, 7]

References:

1. SHARMA, VINIT & SHARMA, ANURAGINI: The Status of Women, Fertility and Family Planning among Tribals of South Rajasthan. The Journal of Family Welfare. December 1993. 39(4). P. 20-25.
2. MUTHARAYAPPA, R.: Factors Affecting Fertility Among Tribals. Man & Development. Dec. 1994. 16(4).p.63-79.
3. TANEJA, PRITI V. & SAXENA, MANISHA: Nutritional Anthropometry of Bhil Women in Jhabu