Poor sanitation, harassment reasons for birth problems in India

Harassment was also an associated factor

November 24, 2018 05:24 pm | Updated November 25, 2018 08:03 am IST

Image for representational purpose only.

Image for representational purpose only.

A recent study that analysed nearly 8,000 women in India who gave birth between 2004 and 2005 and 2011 and 2012 (India Human Development Survey) has pointed out that there is a strong association between adverse birth outcomes and sanitation access, gender-based harassment and physical labour.

About 14.9% and 15.5% of the study group experienced preterm birth and low infant birth weight respectively. The researchers found that spending more than two hours per day fetching water was associated with low birth weight while open defecation or sharing latrine within the building was associated with greater chances of low birth weight or preterm birth. The paper was published in PLOS ONE.

“Many homes in low-income countries have no private toilet facilities and private drinking water source. Women and girls are tasked with fetching water from outside the home, which can be physically stressful,” says Prof. Kelly Baker, from the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa College of Public Health, U.S in a release. She is the corresponding author of the paper. “In addition, homes often lack private toilet facilities, meaning women must use shared or public latrines or manage their sanitation needs in open spaces,” she says.

Harassment

Another shocking find of the study was that harassment of women and girls in the community was also associated with both preterm birth and low infant birth weight. “Interventions that reduce domestic responsibilities related to water and sanitation and changed social norms related to gender-based harassment may reduce rates of preterm birth and low infant birth weight in India,” adds the report.

Though there were limitations due to self-reported behaviours and small sample size, the study was able contribute to the limited evidence related to sanitation infrastructure and other social factors that play a role in preterm birth and low infant birth weight.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.