Reproductive and Child Health Care Status in Rajasthan: Empirical Evidence from One of the Developing States of India

Pradeep KUMAR. Bhargava, National Institute of Adult Education (NIAE)

The main objective of the present paper is analyze Reproductive and Child Health care status of the ever-married women of the ages 15-49 years and their children under the age 3 years. It includes Coverage indicators, morbidity indicators and behavioral change indicators. The data for the present paper has been taken from a major survey (NFHS-2 India 1998-99) of 6813 ever-married women of the ages 15-49 living in the state Rajasthan of India. Findings of the study show that infant mortality rate for the state Rajasthan is 80.4 per 1000 live births. About health care and nutrition, for children born in the three years preceding NFHS-2, 53 per cent of their mothers received no antenatal check up. Coverage by all three interventions was lower for women living in rural areas or in western regions and for women in disadvantaged socio-economic groups than for other women. Analyses show that 51 per cent of children under age three years were underweight, 52 per cent were stunted and 12 per cent were wasted. Undernutrition has been higher in rural than in urban areas and was particularly high among children age 12-35 months and children from disadvantaged socio-economic groups.