Maternal and Child Health
Mixed Success Involving Men in Maternal Care Worldwide
In most locales around the world, whether in developing or developed countries, men are little involved in their partners’ health care during pregnancy. Research has shown, however, that women would like their partners to be more involved and that, in many cases, men are interested in being involved. Increased male participation could yield health benefits for men, women, and children. In recognition of this situation, the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health program conducted two “Men in Maternity” studies in disparate settings—one in India and the other in South Africa—to engage male partners in health services during the antenatal and postpartum periods. Although the intervention in India was more successful than the one in South Africa, valuable lessons were learned in both countries.
Demography
Bengali Perceptions of Adult Mortality Trends Distorted
Nostalgia for the “good old days,” a familiar sentiment in the developed world, may be common in the developing world as well. Recent research in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal has revealed that, despite well-documented progress in health and improvement in child mortality rates, many rural Bengalis firmly believe that adult health and survival have declined in recent years. Demographers Sajeda Amin, of the Population Council, and Alaka Malwade Basu, of Cornell University, were intrigued by this worldview and decided to explore it further.
HIV/AIDS
Unsafe Behaviors Most Common Among Poor Women
Around the world, HIV infects about 1 percent of 15–24-year-olds, but in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, more than 14 percent of people in this age group are infected, according to a 2003 population-based survey by Lovelife and the Reproductive Health Research Unit in Johannesburg. Young women are at particularly high risk of infection. South Africa has three infected 15–24-year-old females for every infected male of the same age. Poverty may play a key role in HIV risk. Population Council health economist Kelly Hallman investigated the effect of socioeconomic disadvantage on the sexual behaviors of young women and men in KwaZulu-Natal, the most populated South African province. She found that poverty is more consistently correlated with unhealthy sexual behaviors among females than among males.
Safe Motherhood
Maternal Health Education Needed in Pakistan
The period of time after a woman gives birth, during which her uterus shrinks and other physical changes that occurred during pregnancy are reversed, is a crucial yet under-researched element of maternity. Although the pregnancy has ended, serious diseases or disabilities associated with pregnancy—such as infection or heavy bleeding—are still possible. In fact, some traditional practices may increase the likelihood of these maladies. Similarly, the neonatal period is critical for infants, and some traditional practices may put their health at risk as well. Fariyal F. Fikree, Population Council director of regional health programs in Cairo, and her colleagues explored postpartum and neonatal health, traditional beliefs and practices, and care-seeking behaviors among new mothers in poor areas of Karachi, Pakistan.
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