Maternal and Newborn Care Practices among the Muslim Slum Dwellers in India: Does the Popular Common Sense Matter?

Abstract

Despite a large number of government health programs, schemes and incentives, India is trailing in achieving global sustainable development goals on ensuring healthy lives and reducing maternal mortality ratio, under-five mortality and neonatal mortality. For improving maternal and child health, one of the possible ways could be making sense of maternal and newborn care practices. These practices are dynamic and interwoven in the socio-cultural milieu. Many of these practices have detrimental effect on the health of mother and newborn. There is need to explore, understand and negotiate with maternal and newborn care practices for locating elements of ‘good sense’ in these practices, which could be helpful in promoting better maternal and child health. It is in this context that an attempt is made to describe the maternal and newborn care practices among the Muslim slum dwellers in Hyderabad, Telangana (India).