Women In Rural Nepal Research Articles

Female Sterilization in Nepal: A Comparison of Two Types of Service Delivery

Outreach camps have played an important role during the past 30 years in making sterilization accessible to rural women in Nepal. In 1996 42% of all sterilization clients (50% of males and 39% of females) received services from camps. Concerns have been raised however about the quality of care in these camps. The present study compared the social and demographic characteristics and sterilization experiences of 445 women who had been contraceptively sterilized in public hospitals and 372 women who underwent the procedure in temporary camps. Study respondents were drawn from a nationally representative sample of 8429 ever-married women who participated in the 1996 Nepal Family Health Survey. Both groups were similar in terms of age and parity at the time of sterilization and educational attainment but camp patients were more likely to be rural and from the Terai plains region. 80% of hospital and 82% of camp clients reported that sterilization was the first contraceptive method they had used. 12% of women who underwent sterilization in hospitals and 10% who received the procedure in camps expressed post-sterilization regret but this outcome was unrelated to attributes of the service delivery site. These findings suggest that camps do not imply less careful screening of sterilization clients or an inferior quality of services. Rather they appear to represent an important means of meeting couples demand for sterilization services in rural areas where hospital- or clinic-based services are not available throughout the year.

Inter-individual and seasonal weight variation in rural Nepali women

Changes in body weight were examined for non-pregnant women in rural Nepal, using 183 anthropometric measures between the early winter and monsoon seasons in 1982, 1982-83, 1990-91 and 1993. The women gained weight when work loads decreased after the monsoon, but despite substantial changes in total energy expenditure, which were out of phase with changes in food intake, seasonal changes were small, averaging only up to 2.6% of initial body weight. There were notable differences between individual women, changes in body weight ranging from -5.6 kg to 4.8 kg. Weight change was examined with respect to lactation status, age, body mass index, mid upper arm circumference and skinfolds as well as total energy expenditure and intake. Nonlactating women, very thin women and women aged under 25 years gained more weight than their counterparts, both before and after the monsoon. Data for a sub-sample in 1982-83 indicated that women who maintained high physical activity levels throughout the year were less prone to weight loss than women whose activity fluctuated between seasons. Initial energy reserves, age-related maturation factors, levels of physical activity and energy intake combine to produce the notable inter-individual variation in body weight changes observed in this population.

Production Credit for Rural Women in Nepal

Not Available.

Birth Intervals and the Survival of Children to Age Five--Some Data from Nepal

While several studies have been done on the relationship between infant mortality and birth intervals none have been done on a specific population. For this reason 3500 rural women in Nepal were interviewed and pregnancy histories taken. Out of a total of 9800 live births reported all children under 5 years of age were eliminated from the study; 1st order births were tabulated into only some of the results leaving a total sample of 4527 children over 5 years of age with a pre and post birth interval factor. Because women of early or late childbearing age are known to have more complications pre or postnatally the respondents were divided into 4 groups: those under 19 20-24 25-29 and those 30 or over. 38% of infants whose mothers waited less than 18 months to have another child died before they reached the age of 5. Pre birth intervals of more than 30 months have a 10-20% mortality rate with women in the older age categories having a slightly better chance for their babies to survive. Similar statistics were found for the post birth interval base. Short post birth intervals provide even greater danger to the infant than short pre birth intervals. The results show that women who become pregnant 30 months following the birth of their previous child are at much higher risk than those who wait at least 42 months to have another child. The above results present a powerful argument for the spacing of children. Because natural means of birth control such as breastfeeding or taboos on intercourse during lactation are decreasing as a country develops there will be a greater need for widespread contraception use and family planning.

Socio-Educational Influences on Nepali Women and Their Association with Innovative Values and Behaviors

The introduction of health and family planning services in developing countries often requires extensive changes in the values and behaviors of the women of those countries. A better understanding of the factors influencing change in rural women would provide a stronger scientific base for the introduction of health services.The authors gathered data from 1,417 rural women in Nepal. Indicators of social change were contraceptive use, desired family size and scientific treatment of sick children. Major influences associated with change were regionality, having children in school, ownership of money and access to media. However, the strength of association with the indices of change varied, suggesting that change in values and behaviors is meaning specific and not a general phenomenon.