Abstract

PIP: In India, interviews with 104 mothers living in 16 villages of Ludhiana district were conducted to determine prenatal care practices among women of low and middle socioeconomic classes. Just 4 women (5.4%), who were of the middle socioeconomic group, had their pregnancy medically confirmed. Most women (64.9%) knew that they were pregnant because of amenorrhea. Middle class women believed there was no need to visit a physician during pregnancy, while poverty and no need were reasons for no prenatal care among the low income group. Middle class women were more likely to report medical/health problems and use home remedies to treat those problems throughout pregnancy than did low income women (e.g., 21 vs. 2 women and 6 women vs. 0 women). Low income women were more likely to seek treatments for illness from a physician, especially for complaints of pain in the lower abdomen (33.9% vs. 23%). Perhaps a tendency among the low income mothers to ignore symptoms until they became serious enough to require a doctor accounted for this difference. Even though middle class women were more likely to deliver at a hospital or maternity home (47.9% vs. 13.1%), low income women were more likely to have trained assistance during home deliveries than middle class women (83.9% vs. 20.8%; home deliveries without trained assistance 0 vs. 31.3%). None of the women improved their nutrition intake during pregnancy. The reason for any incidental intakes of special foods among low income and middle income women was strong liking for these foods. Poverty and ignorance contributed to the reason for not consuming enough good quality food during pregnancy among the low income women. Among the middle class group, ignorance was instrumental. These findings will be used to plan a parent and community education program in child care and development in rural areas.