What books on parenting have been worth buying for you?

What about pregnancy books? Which ones could you not live without?

My husband and I are first time parents and need some direction! Thanks!

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Any woman who has gone through a miscarriage can attest to how upsetting the experience can be. Women who are also dealing with infertility can find the emotional pain of dealing with a miscarriage to be particularly overwhelming, leaving them with a lot of miscarriage questions. While suffering a miscarriage can make a woman feel alone and isolated, dealing with a pregnancy loss is actually very common.

What is a Miscarriage?
The term miscarriage refers to the loss of a fetus up to the 20th week of pregnancy. After the 20th week, loss of the fetus is known as a stillbirth. It is estimated that between 15% and 20% of all recognized pregnancies end in miscarriage. The risk of miscarriage is typically highest during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. A blighted ovum accounts for 30% of miscarriages that occur prior to the eighth week of pregnancy.

While there is nothing abnormal about experiencing one miscarriage before achieving a successful pregnancy, some couples might deal with multiple miscarriages. Recurrent pregnancy loss affects 0. 5% to 1% of all pregnancies. If you are experiencing recurrent miscarriage, it is important to make an appointment for a medical evaluation. Repeated losses might indicate fertility problems that should be investigated.

Miscarriage Symptoms
Typically, the most obvious signs of miscarriage are bleeding and abdominal cramping. Even though some light vaginal bleeding is common during the first trimester, heavy bleeding is not. Other miscarriage symptoms include:

severe abdominal pain
backache
chills or running a fever

If you notice any of these symptoms of miscarriage, contact your healthcare bourgeois right away or head to your nearest hospital emergency room.

Miscarriage Causes
The most often cited reason for a miscarriage is genetic abnormalities with the fetus, which is believed to statement for as much as 60% of all miscarriages. These abnormalities are not thought to pose any problems for future pregnancies.

Other less common causes of miscarriage include:

Uterine infection
Use of alcohol, cigarettes, recreational drugs and certain medications
Poor production of progesterone primeval in pregnancy
Uterine abnormalities
Fibroids (can occasionally interfere with implantation)
Immunological factors (thought to possibly statement for as much as 25% of all repeated miscarriages)

In general, if a woman has only had one miscarriage, it is unlikely that any medical evaluation to determine the cause will be initiated. This is because as much as 90% of women go on to have a normal, healthy pregnancy after a single miscarriage. If you have had two or more consecutive miscarriages, though, your healthcare bourgeois will probably want to investigate the issue.

To determine the miscarriage cause, a pelvic exam will likely be done. During this time, your healthcare bourgeois will analyze the size and shape of your uterus as well as take a sample from the cervix and vagina to test for infection. Blood tests for both partners will also be ordered to see if any chromosomal abnormalities or hormonal imbalances in either partner can be detected. Finally, if possible, the miscarried fetus will be evaluated for chromosomal abnormalities or any other reasons that can give insight as to why the miscarriage occurred.

Miscarriage Prevention
While there is no surefire way to refrain a miscarriage, there are numerous steps you can take to lower your risk.

Follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly
Quit smoking and cut out alcohol before you begin trying to conceive
Avoid using recreational drugs
If you are using prescribed medications, talk with your physician about how these medications might interfere with your fertility and discuss the option of switching if necessary
Begin taking folic acid supplements before you are pregnant

Women with chronic conditions, such as diabetes or thyroid problems, should have these disorders under control before becoming pregnant. Poor management of a chronic illness can contribute to recurrent pregnancy loss.

In women who have experienced multiple miscarriages, treatment might be doable for the underlying cause. Genetic counseling in those who have been found to have a chromosomal problem is a possibility. Structural problems with the uterus might be fixed through surgery, even though this won’t necessarily guarantee a successful pregnancy. It is doable that some other bourgeois which was missed is actually contributing to the repeat miscarriages.

When necessary, the use of certain medications, including heparin, baby aspirin and IVIg therapy, can be helpful. If porr progesterone production is a factor, progesterone supplements might be administered.

Although no treatment can assure a pregnancy, achieving a successful pregnancy after miscarriage is entirely possible. Discussing your desire for kids with your health care bourgeois before you begin trying to conceive can help you assess your risk for miscarriage.

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also called  Extrauterine Pregnancy,

In tubal ectopic pregnancy the ovum becomes implanted in one of the fallopian tubes. This condition is not uncommon, occurring about once in 250 to 300 pregnancies and more frequently in blacks than Caucasians. It might be brought about by anything that interferes with the propulsion of the fertilized ovum from the fallopian tube toward the uterine cavity—e. g. , inflammation of the fallopian tube, developmental malformation of the sacs within its canal, or kinking of the tube.

If transport to the uterus is sufficiently delayed, the ovum becomes too massive for simple passage and becomes imbedded in the surround of the fallopian tubule. Tubal ectopic pregnancy in primeval stages is similar in some respects to normal pregnancy; implantation of the ovum in the tubal surround is much like that which occurs in the uterus. Also, as pregnancy begins to develop, placental tissue, like that of intrauterine gestation, develops. Eventually, however, the placenta removes itself from the tubal wall, and the fetus is discharged as a whole mass or in smaller fragments if it disintegrates.

The symptoms of tubal ectopic pregnancy in primeval stages are so minor that they might be ignored by the patient. Depending upon the part of the tube in which the ovum has become implanted, the tubal pregnancy can abort, through tubal rupture, any time from 6 to 18 weeks after cessation of menstrual periods (on occasion there will be no history of missed periods). Once the fetus begins to disintegrate or is discharged, bleeding will follow.

Pain is associated at some time with almost each tubal pregnancy. During the final stages of separation and expulsion in a tubal pregnancy, the patient experiences pain and bleeding. Surgical exploration of the abdomen and removal of the affected tube and replacement of lost blood are often essential to prevent death.

Ovarian ectopic pregnancy is a relatively rare condition in which the ovum is fertilized before its discharge from the follicle. Symptoms, termination, and treatment are similar to those of tubal pregnancy, but gestation might progress slightly further before rupture and bleeding occur.

Abdominal ectopic pregnancy occurs when the placenta is attached to some part of the peritoneal cavity other than the uterus or tube. While a few of these pregnancies are a result of implantation in the abdominal lining, most are the result of expulsion of a tubal pregnancy. The condition can be suspected in the first three months of pregnancy if pain and bleeding are experienced. Abdominal pregnancy can reach term. Prompt surgical removal of the fetus is necessary, because an unrecognized and untreated abdominal pregnancy can result in infection or calcification leading to the formation of a lithopedion (calcified dead fetus) and death of the mother.

Click Here To Discover How to Treat Infertility Naturally; Without Drugs or Surgery. The Pregnancy MiracleTM System.

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These nuggets of information concerning the consumption of fish oil for baby health benefits, should be of interest to any expectant mother. We all wish for any women whose pregnant to give birth to a healthy, bouncing baby, full of the joys of life.

What modern science has gradually begun to uncover by diligent research and multiple clinical trials, is that lifestyle and dietary choices of the expectant mom do have a bearing on the health of the child. The revealing facts say that this can happen at numerous stages between conception and birth.

With particular reference to omega 3 fish oils such facts include the following. That by taking such dietary supplements the birth weight of the baby might increase, and that there’s less chance of it developing type 1 diabetes.

Fish oil for baby health benefits also includes the next piece of research. It claims that the timing of when you take them could be equally important as it’s during the last three months of pregnancy that the child’s brain puts on a growth spurt.

As far as the mums to be go, they too could benefit from these omega 3 oils, as it helps in reducing blood pressure and the risks of suffering anti natal depression.

Even if we fast forward a few years, tests on children whose mums took the supplement while pregnant, showed a marked improvement in hand-eye coordination from those moms that didn’t. No doubt potential effects need to be explored further.

• Ramaiah Bheenaveni *

Rural women’s health is an infinitely broad topic. Many Indian women have come from circumstances in which women have limited access to healthcare. Traditionally, there has been discrimination towards women in decision-making; access to resources such as food, education and health care; job opportunities; and in child-rearing and parenting. However, women’s health in rural areas affects everything in their environment from their families to their economies and vice versa. A woman’s health, especially among the poor and illiterate, is often neglected not just by her family but by the woman herself. She is taught not to complain and if she does then she is directed either to use condiments in the kitchen or try establishment healing.

Man is one-of-a-kind in that he has a distinct cultural environment of his own. This includes all the conditions in which men are born, brought up, live, work, procreate and perish. Culture as an environment is deeply related to the health of humans. It includes patterns of social organizations designed to regulate a particular society; one can comprehend the activity of people belonging to various sections and predict how an individual of a particular section will react in a given situation. With our knowledge of health, the treatment of diseases among ignorant peoples appears to be strange since they frequently follow practices of praying, wearing of amulets or consulting an exorcist who recites certain verbal formula. Hence, we can say that beliefs and cultural practices are predominately playing significant roles in the human health more peculiarly in the health of women.

Many rural people did not know about the services set up for them at sub-centres and PHC by the government because they did not see any evidence of these services being provided for them. As a part of the awareness programmes, the health workers (ANM) have been organizing to several exposure trips at the villages. It was there that the women were informed about the specifics of various services supposed to be prefabricated acquirable to them. This encouraged some of them to ask questions and report on the situation in their PHC. They explained that though a nurse did visit their village it was not a regular visit, nor did she go beyond a certain point in the village, and certainly did not take a round of the village. They prefabricated a show of doing their duty by providing nominal services.

A variety of factors, including an older population, a limited supply of health care providers, and further distances from health care resources might contribute to special health concerns for people in non-metropolitan areas. Access to health care and social services are critical issues for rural women.

Belief is the psychological say in which an individual is convinced of the truth of a proposition. Like the related concepts truth, knowledge, and wisdom, there is no precise definition of belief on which scholars agree, but rather numerous theories and continued debate about the nature of belief 1.

The cultural phenomenon of social organization, according to Giger and Davidhizar (2004), includes groups in the social environment that influence cultural development and identification. The family, an important aspect of the social organization phenomenon, strongly influences cultural behavior through a process of socialization or enculturation of kids and group members (Giger & Davidhizar; Niska, 1999). These learned cultural behaviors guide individuals through life situations, events and health practices. Understanding family from a cultural appearance is a significant element in providing nursing care to Mexican-Americans since Giger and Davidhizar refer the family as being most values in this culture.

Environmental control is defined by Giger and Davidhizar (2004) as the capability of persons within a particular cultural heritage to plan activities that control their environment as well as their perception of one’s capability to direct factors in the environment. Kuipers’ (1999) discussion of this model, in relation to Mexican-American culture, emphasized the construct of environmental control with a focus on locus-of-control, health beliefs, and folk medicine. Locus-of-control explains the way in which individuals, within their cultural environment, perceive their capability to control what happens to them and to their health. Health might be viewed as being dependent on outside forces or their own actions (Bundek et al. , 1993). Beliefs about health and illness, which are components of environmental control, affect health practices, use of health resources, and a person’s response to experiences of both health and illness (Giger & Davidhizer, 2004; Northam, 1996). A third component of environmental control, folk medicine, includes substitute therapies such as using herbs and teas or visiting a cultural folk healer.

Objectives:

1. Exploration of women beliefs on health, risk and their relationship to lifestyles;

2. Elicitation of their views crossways a range of health-related behaviours and practices, especially puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and child rearing, and assessment of the potential for the positive promotion of women health in these and other areas of her sexual health.

3. Identification of the sources of information and influences on the development of health beliefs amongst women, particularly with respect to common elements in attitudes to risk-taking crossways a number of health beliefs and practices.

4. To focus on what women themselves know and want to know, including the salience of health, and the relevance of health-related knowledge in their lives

Hypothesis:

1. There is a positive relationship between social beliefs and cultural practices of a given society

2. Positive relationship might be observed among the social beliefs and cultural practices and various other factors such as caste, religion, social and traditional customs in society

3. The explanation for the enduringness of belief systems is that people remain committed to them, but for this commitment to last long, the belief system must be validated

Research Design:

A decimal and qualitative study, building on our previous work in this area, concerning the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices of female kids and young women to health, risk and lifestyles. A guiding methodological principle underpinning the study was the development of a sensitive research design for rather than on women: a study grounded not simply in what women know or need to know, but also in what they want to know and feel to be important in the context of their apiece day lives. The methods enabling these principles to be taken forward are described below.

a) Area of the Study:

The Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh consists of ten districts videlicet Hyderabad, Ranagareddy, Mahabubnagar, Medak, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Nalgonda, and Khammam. From this region, the village Ramchandrapur in Koheda Mandal of Karimnagar district has been randomly selected as an area of the study.

b) Universe & Sampling:

According to 2001 census, the village Ramchandrapur has an approximate population of 1840 who from nearly 550 families. This village has a primary health centre (PHC), but lacks a major hospital within a range of 35 kms. And this village has been selected as universe for this study.

So for this study, the researcher adopted stratified-proportionate random method of sampling based on caste composition of the villagers and selected the respondents from the families mentioned in the habitation list of Ramchandrapur. This village population data was collected from Supraja Seva Samithi, a voluntary organization, which is working in the region for the last 10 years in the fields of health, education and environmental protection. The list consists of various caste grouping and from which proportionate stratified samples were selected. Then a list of about 181 respondents was prepared for data collection. Therefore, it is obvious that an attempt has been prefabricated to present a general picture of community data and on the basis of which, views and attitudes of the respondents were taken into consideration.

C) Tools of Data Collection:

As the research is qualitative and quantitative, non-participant attending and interview schedule was adopted for the collection of primary data. The aspects that will cover in the interview schedule were defined under two parts, one is for socio-economic and cultural position of respondents such as name, sex, age, social status, education, religion, income, nature and type of the house, etc. and the other for socio-cultural beliefs and practice patterns in health and the related treatment of the villagers.

D) Analysis and interpretation of data:

After arranging the collected data through info and classification, they were examined and interpreted in the socio-cultural context so as to give a scientific basis to the study. Even though statistical methods like frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, t-test, chi-squire and ANOVA have been used in the study, they were applied in a relevant way.

Findings:

Socio-Economic Profile:

During the field work, observed that 22 castes were appeared and most of the respondent belongs to the BC castes like Yadava, Gouda, Munnuru Kapu, Vishwa Brahmin, Mudiraj and a insignificant number of people belongs to services caste like Mangali, Chakali, Mera and so on. A considerable amount of people belongs to SC community i. e. Mala and Madigas. Only a few respondents belong to ST (Erukala) community. Out of the 181 respondents, 55 percent are male and 45 percent female,. This research is carried out with nearly all the equal four fold age groups of respondents. Thus, it is noted that age group is scattered in this study. More number of respondents i. e. 91% belongs to Hindu belief and 5% are Muslim. Nearly 4% of the respondents belong to Christianity. It is also evidenced that common phenomena of belief composition in India.

In this village, a majority of the respondents i. e. 82 (45%) are illiterates. The next more number of respondents have studied up to primary and secondary level i. e. 24 (13%). There are 21 (12%) of the respondents can read and write. A significant number of respondents i. e. 18 (10%) claimed to have studied up to college level while the small number of people who have studied up to professional level, technical level and others stands at 7 (4%), 3 (2%) and 2 (1%) respectively. The findings reveal that more number of the respondents i. e. 55 (30. 4%) are labourers and one-fourths of the respondents i. e. 45 (24. 9%) are engaging in the farming. On the whole 38(21%) are continuing their caste occupation while 20 (11%) and 17 (9. 4%) respondents are doing other occupation and brought up into the service sector respectively. Only a few of the respondents i. e. 6 (3. 3%) are carrying out business.

It is also noted that a majority of the respondents i. e. 84. 21% are living under the tiled houses and a significant number of the respondents i. e. 15. 79% posses R. C. C houses. A substantial number of the BC community respondents i. e. 75% owned the tiled home and rest of them i. e. 14. 29% have R. C. C. houses and 8. 04% own asbestos roofed houses. Most of the SC respondents i. e. 91. 49% are residing under the tiled houses while only 8. 51% consist R. C. C. houses. Among the ST respondents, 33. 33% have R. C. C. , tiled home and thatched home equally. Regarding the income, less than 24% of the respondents acquire Rs. 1501 – 2000 per month. Nearly equal number i. e. 22. 7 and 21. 5 % of the respondents acquire below Rs. 500 and between Rs. 1001 and 1500 respectively. A significant number of respondents i. e. 20 % obtaining monthly income is in the range of Rs. 501 – 1000 while only 12. 7% claimed their income was over Rs. 2000.

This village consist very good fertile lands, There is just below half of the respondents i. e. 84 (46. 4%) have not possess any land on their own. There are 35 (19. 3%) of the respondents possess land between 1- 2. 19 acres. A significant number of respondents i. e. 28 (15. 5%) and 20 (11. 04%) are having land between 2. 20 – 4. 39 acres and 5 – 9. 39 acres respectively. A considerable number of respondents i. e. 14 (7. 7%) are owned land 10 and above acres.

Social Dogmatism on Menstruation

Patriarchal societies have tended to control women by first announcing menarche (the onset of menstrual cycle in a young girl) to the world in an apparently celebratory fashion while thereafter attempting to control the implied fertility and sexual power by monthly rites of pollution, restriction and isolation of the menstruating woman.

The various obloquy for menstruation or ‘periods’ point to its polluting quality. For instance in Telugu, it is called samurta or peddamanshi meaning attaining maturity. Menstrual blood is believed to be polluting. There are varying restrictions place on a girl due to this belief such as not touching people or hanging washed clothes out to dry; not touching certain flowering plants lest they die or not fruit; sleeping on a jute bag or woollen blanket away from others. A woman can't touch her child during menstruation. If she has to, the child must first be unclothed absolutely or prefabricated to wear silken clothes. Visiting or touching images of gods, temples, religious scriptures is also prohibited. A fear is inculcated in the adolescent that she will sin if she breaks these taboos. Restrictions are also put on diet. These pollution taboos result in many women getting an enforced rest for at least these three days of the month since they are barred from carrying out their normal activities.

Not only is menstrual blood supposed to be dirty, but evil too. A menstruating girl should not let her shadow start on a child with measles lest the child turn blind. The used menstrual cloth also possesses an evil quality. If men see the cloth, dry or otherwise, they could go blind. If a cow were to swallow the cloth she would curse the girl with infertility. In villages in A. P. , women do not throw their menstrual cloth-they either burn it or bury it.

There seem to be some similarities between Hindus and Muslims regarding the practice of some of these rituals. Among Muslims, the menstruating woman should not touch holy books lest they become impure. Converted Christians follow, even though to a lesser degree, the rituals of their original castes. The taboos and rituals clearly devalue. Women’s reproductive powers. The notion of women being polluted and unclean can be ascribed to patriarchal control of women’s reproductive powers. While the woman fulfils a vital social role of giving birth to progeny through her biological reproductive capacity, she is, at the same time, isolated during menstruation.

Cultural Practices of Puberty

Most women do not know about the physiology of menstruation and therefore the first experience of menstruation is filled with fear, shame and disgust. In some areas such as in rural areas of A. P. the girl is sometimes told to dub three or four dots of menstrual blood or mustard oil on the surround and draw a line between the second and third or third and fourth; it is believed that she will finish her menstruation within two and a half or three and a half days in all subsequent periods.

Elaborate rituals are performed in south Indian states-as well as in many parts of north India-at the onset of menstruation. The onset of puberty is traditionally viewed in terms of the girl’s emergent sexuality and prospective motherhood. The pubescent girl is given an elaborate ritual bath, after a massage with turmeric and vermillion. The Mudiraj communities in A. P. isolate the pubescent girl for 21 days within the house, away from the male gaze. The room in which she is secluded is separated with an iron rod and a fire is kept constantly burning during this period. Fire signifies purity and also keeps away daiyyam or witches and evil spirits. The girl is polluted and hence prohibited from touching people and other people are not granted to touch her. In case of default, a bath is essential for ritual purification.

The Impact of the Food Habits on Women Health:

Although women are more or less marginalized and neglected in relation to the calibre and quantity of food, certain occasions in a woman’s life are celebrated with the offering of a variety of nutritious foods specially prepared for her. Nearly apiece community has the practice of feeding a girl on her first menstruation with delicious and nutritive foods, with the time of seclusion for the period ranging between nine to 21 days. In parts of A. P. , sweets prefabricated of jaggery, groundnuts, sesame, fenugreek, wheat flour and sorgum are given to the girl. Menstruation for the first time in the home of one’s in-laws is also considered very auspicious in all regions of A. P. and is celebrated with gaiety. . The intent seems to be to give the girl ‘rich’, that is, strength-giving foods as well as both ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ foods.

Certain ‘hot’ foods (like jaggery) and ‘cold’ foods (like tamarind and lemons) are prejudice as it is believed that the girl will suffer from menstrual pain. ‘Hot’ foods might cause heavy bleeding and ‘cold’ foods might cause severe menstrual pain. Special foods are understood to compensate for the loss of blood, regularise the menstrual cycle and flow, strengthen her reproductive organs and generally contribute to her fertility.

Work Prohibition of Pregnant Women:

It is also observed during the fieldwork that nearly all the respondents have revealed that prohibition of work is compulsory while a women pregnancy but this notion is varies to one community to another. The higher social position communities are not granted to perform the works even domestic works also from the primeval months to after late months of maternity. Whereas weaker section women perform the regular domestic actives some of them perform field activates but it is only in the primeval months. They should also take rest in the late months of pregnancy and primeval months of maternity.

Encourage and Disencourage Food Items During the Pregnancy of Women:

During pregnancy and lactation, many traditional communities crossways the country restrict a woman’s food intake. It is believed that if a pregnant woman eats too much, the foetus will not have room to move. The abdomen is supposed to contain both the food and the foetus and the latter’s space needs should be given greater priority. Another reason for controlling a pregnant woman’s food consumption is perhaps that excess weight would reduce the productivity of her work in the fields and around the house. A widely prevalent practice all over India is shrimanta. In the seventh month of pregnancy special rituals are performed and different types of sweets are prepared and given to the parents-to-be. The purpose is to give moral support and encouragement to the pregnant woman and celebrate her accomplishment of having reached near full-term. The sweets are generally prefabricated of wheat flour, jaggery, ghee, fenugreek and dry fruits. In the final stages of pregnancy, the pregnant woman is supposed to cat these foods custom apiece day. This is a good custom because it provides the calories and accelerator needed for the rapidly growing foetus in the last trimester of pregnancy.

Food Items Encourage % Disencourage %

1. Milk 173 95. 5 8 4. 4

2. Green leafs 148 81. 7 33 18. 2

3. Toddy 80 44. 1 101 55. 8

4. Non-Veg 132 72. 9 49 27

5. Papaya — — 181 100

6. Potato 49 27 132 72. 9

7. Brinjal 50 27. 6 131 72. 3

The above plateau explains the villager’s perceptions on encourage and disencourage food items during the pregnancy of women. The data shows that there are 173 (95. 5%) of the respondents have said that they are encouraging milk and its related food items and only insignificant number of respondents i. e. 8 (4. 4%) are not encouraging the food items of milk. As many as 148 (81. 7%) of them revealed that they are encouraging green leafs and rest of the significant number of respondents i. e. 33 (18. 2%) are not interested to give the green leafs to the pregnants. Interestingly the data depicts that more than half of the respondents i. e. 101 (55. 8%) have said that they are encouraging toddy and 80 (44. 1%) of them are not giving taking toddy. A substantial number of the respondents i. e. 132 (72. 9%) have expressed that they are encouraging the consummation of non-vegetarian foods like mutton, chicken and egg. The total number of respondents is practicing the prohibition of papaya consummation during the pregnancy. All most all equal number of respondents i. e. 49 (27%) and 50 (27. 6%) have revealed that Potato and Brinjal are encouraged food items and as similar 132 (72. 9%) and 131 (72. 3%) of them are not encouraging the food items of Potato and Brinjal.

The data regarding Caring of Pregnant Women among the Villagers clarifies the continuation of the view of several communities respondents such as Yadava 14 (7. 7%), Gouda 3 (1. 7%), Munurukapu 11 (6. 1%), Oddera 6 (3. 3%), Vishwa Brahmin 5 (2. 8%), Mala 25 (13. 8%), Madiga 21 (11. 6%), Padmashali 7 (3. 9%), apiece 3 (1. 7%) of Mangali, Dudekula and Erukala, Kumari 2 (1. 1%) and apiece 1 (0. 6%) of Pusala, Mera, Chindi and Dakkali have said that family and their kins are taking care of their pregnant women. In this category the total numbers of SC and ST communities are appeared because of less financial position and peer group pressure. A majority number of working caste like Yadava, Munnurukapu, Oddera, Padmashali, Dudekula and Kummari are appeared. However, these communities’ people are visiting either government or private hospital for check up their health conditions during primeval pregnant hood as well as before delivery. One more interesting thing that the caste Mangali itself is traditional birth meeter community in this village so we might think about them in response to this query that they are taking care about pregnant as a traditional birth meeter and as a family. On the whole 3 (1. 7 %) of Yadava, 2 (1. 1 %) Gouda, 1 (0. 6 %) of Munnurukapu and Kummari, 8 (4. 4 %) of Chakali, 5 (2. 7%) of Dudekula and the total number of Mudiraj 7 (4%) community respondent have expressed that traditional birth meeter are taking care about pregnant of their communities. It is important to note that previous these caste people took care about pregnant but at presently they are seeking the help of traditional birth meeter by reason of saving of time. These kind of villagers always busy in their routine work if they involve in the caring process they should be lost more time in order to money also. The data also describes that all most all the respondents of Deshmukh 3 (1. 6%), Vysya 4 (2. 2%) and Vaisnava 5 (2. 7%) communities have revealed that health workers or ANMs are looking after the pregnant women. It might due to the higher awareness regarding health and individualized bias or prejudices of health workers or ANMs who are interested to associate with the higher social position communities.

On statement of preferable birthplace; the responses of majority respondents i. e. 112 (62%) is that birth at the traditional birth meeter is more preferable. As many as number of respondent i. e. 36 (20%) have revealed that they prepared birthplace is Government Hospitals and the reaming respondents i. e. 32 (18%) have expressed their perception that Private Hospital are preferable to give the birth. The cluster analysis of data also provides the social position wise explanation that there are 7 (4%) of OC respondents, 19 (10. 5%) of BCs and 10 (5. 5%) of SCs are interested to go to the government hospitals. There are 10 (5. 5%) of OCs and 23 (12. 7%) of BCs were interested on Privates hospitals. Among the reaming of categories, the more number of BC respondents i. e. 70 (38. 5%), 37 (20. 5%) and the total number of ST community respondents i. e. 3 (1. 7%) and only few {2(1. 1%)} of OC respondent are still interested to give birth under the attending or treatment of traditional birth attendant.

Practices after Delivery:

Women underfed themselves during pregnancy and strove for a small baby to ensure simple delivery. Babies were not to be breast fed on first three days and baby-clothes were not used till a ceremony (purudu/Naming) on 9th day to 21st day. Moms could not leave the delivery room till that day. To minimize the toilet needs, they severely restricted their intake of fluids and food during first week after delivery. Moms did not wash hands properly; their clothes and linen were often dirty. Newborn babies, even if sick, were not moved out of home. The usual explanations for the sicknesses in neonates were ‘evil eye’, ‘witch craft’, or ill effects of foods ingested by mother.

The practice of breast-feeding female kids for shorter periods of time reflects the strong desire for sons. If women are particularly anxious to have a male child, they might deliberately try to become pregnant again as soon as doable after a female is born. Conversely, women might consciously seek to refrain another pregnancy after the birth of a male child in order to give maximum attention to the new son

Summary and Conclusions:

Due to the orthodoxical and traditional dogma, majority numbers of respondent are not possess proper notion on Women’s health. In addition to supernatural beliefs about what brings on disease, women also have some beliefs about the non-physical causes of ill-health. The most commonly found syndrome was ‘weakness’ which consists of fatigue, body ache, ghabrahat (a generic term used for anxiety, fear, restlessness, trepidation, etc. ), pallor, low backache and burning of palms and feet. Thus poverty, illiteracy and social backwardness complete the subordination of women. In reality, therefore, most women carry a tremendous degree of mental discomfort and agony due to the improper beliefs and practices.

However, practices existed to over come or to tune with the problems, which might be physical, psychological, cultural and environmental. Subsequently practices are to be strengthen in order to uninterrupted as the beliefs. Once, belief is to be got its own identity; the existence of practice should automatically come by the deeds of the victims or followers. Sometimes belief might be deteriorate due to the business, cost effective and the rationalism should also vanish the irrational beliefs so that we can eventually conclude beliefs exist by the practices which might takes place to over come the problems or to adjust with the nature.

References:

1. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Belief

2. Giger, J. N. , & Davidhizar, R. E. (2004): “Transcultural nursing: Assessment and intervention” (4th ed. ). St. Louis: Mosby publication.

3. Spector, R. E. (2004): “Cultural diversity in health & illness” (5th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Health publication. .

4. Bundek, N. I. , Marks, G. , & Richardson, J. I. (1993): “Role of health locus of control beliefs in cancer screening of elderly Hispanic women”. Health Psychology, 12(3), 193-1999.

5. Pachter, L. M. (1994) “Culture and clinical care: Folk illness beliefs and behaviors and their implications for health care delivery”. Journal of the American Medical Association, 271(9), 690-694.

6. Roberson, M. H. (1987): “Folk health beliefs of health professional”. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 9(2), 257-263.

7. Treistman, J. (1988): “Health beliefs in socio-cultural perspective”. In G. Caliandro & B. L. Judkins (Ed. ), Primary nursing practice (pp. 119-133). Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company.

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Midwives New York
Co-Editor-in-Chief, Tracy E. Austin, MD
Thursday, Jan 21, 2010 – 07:01 PM

An Old Profession, a New Alternative

The word “midwife” comes from the old English vernacular and means “with woman. ”
Midwives have been around for centuries. Ancient Hindu records, Greek and Roman manuscripts, and even the Bible all mention midwives.

By 1560, Parisian midwives were required to pass a test, and obtain a license, to be a midwife. Not all countries had laws this strict, however. English midwives received tiny formal training and it was not until 1902 that the country required a license. USA adopted the English model of midwifery.

Midwifery History

Early American midwives learned their craft through apprenticeship and tradition. Midwives did not receive any training in medicine or hygiene. As the medical profession emerged, women (originally called healers) could not attend the universities that trained doctors.

In many cases, these midwives were more proficient than the new doctors. In 1910, midwives delivered about half the babies born. Most of these babies were from poor, working class immigrants, or black families. The emerging obstetricians could see doable patients slipping through their fingers and thus began their attack on the midwives.

A Bad Reputation

The medical society did not feel that women could handle all of the information that a physician needed to know. Publicly, the obstetricians launched an attack on the midwives using science and restructuring skills. They claimed that midwives were “hopelessly dirty, ignorant, and incompetent. ” However, the midwife treated the mom and child, taking into consideration the needs of both.

Obstetricians of the day, wanted to use their newly learned surgical techniques even when endangering the patients. The midwives were the more competent of the two but the medical profession had the power and clout so say after say passed laws banning midwives. This necessitated the foundation of the first nurse-midwifery school in 1932. The intent was to incorporate the necessary medical training into the midwifery’s traditional training.

Modern Midwives

Midwives this day come from many different types of backgrounds. The subtitle that a midwife uses indicates her level of education and training.

A Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) has a minimum of a bachelor’s degree by an accredited school. Some of them have a master’s or doctoral degrees. A CNM has finished both nursing and midwifery training. The American College of Nurse Midwives certifies them once they pass both say and national licensing exams. Ninety-six percent of births in a hospital are assisted by a CNM.

A Certified Midwife (CM) has trained in midwifery, but is not a registered nurse. They meet practice standards of the North American Registry of Midwives. They possess at least a bachelor’s degree. Because this certification has only existed since 1996, there are not many CMs and many says do not recognize this certification.

A lay or direct-entry Midwife (DEM) does not have a college degree or certificate. Not each say requires them to work with physicians or grants them to practice. They usually practice in homes or non-hospital birth centers.

Direct-entry midwives have probably trained through an apprenticeship, workshops, formal instruction, or any combination of the three. A lay midwife is not certified or licensed but trained informally, through apprenticeship or self-study.

The North American Registry of Midwives certifies A Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) after passing written exams and hands on skill evaluations. Both a certified nurse- midwife and direct-entry midwives can apply for this certificate. They are required to have out-of-hospital birth experience and usually practice at home or birth-centers. The legal position varies according to state.

What Midwives Do

Throughout the patient’s pregnancy, a midwife counsels the mother-to-be. They monitor the physical, physiological, and social well-being of the patient. They encourage the moms to trust their own instincts and seek out the answers they need to help them make those decisions.

In a high-risk pregnancy, a physician should be acquirable and the baby should be delivered in a hospital. A midwife sometimes encourages physical positioning during labor. Physical positioning includes such ways as travel around, showering, rocking, or leaning on a birthing ball. Unlike doctors, midwives grant the patient to take and drink during labor.

Certified nurse-midwives use some more conventional medical interventions such as electronic fetal monitoring, pain medications, epidurals, episiotomies, if needed. However, without a physician present, midwives can't use these tools. Birthing centers might or might not be equipped with these items. Midwives can't give a cesarean section. If the patient needs a c-section, the midwife must call an accoucheur to perform the procedure. Certified midwives train in basic life support for newborns, so if the need arises they can care for the baby, until a pediatrician arrives.

Patients of midwives use fetal monitoring less often and very often do not need epidurals, episiotomies, and c-sections for a successful delivery. In part, this is because midwives only see low risk patients, but researchers think that the attitude a midwife brings to the situation helps to assist the patient into a sense of trust and serenity enough that the patient only requires a minimal amount of pain relievers.

If the patient has had prior problems in childbirth, is anticipating multiple births, or has a medical problem such as diabetes or high-blood pressure, physicians advocate that the patient use a physician for delivery. Certified nurse-midwives, who work closely with physicians and operate in a hospital, can take on a high-risk patient. For referenced resourced information, go to http://www. smilemd. com/midwives/an-old-profession-a-new-alternative. aspx

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Biological Tests of Pregnancy

Outward primeval indications of pregnancy are missed menstrual periods, morning nausea, and fullness and tenderness of the breasts; but the positive and certain signs of gestation are the sounds of the fetal heartbeat, which are audible with a stethoscope between the 16th and the 20th week of pregnancy; ultrasound images of the growing fetus, which can be observed throughout pregnancy; and fetal movements, which usually occur by the 18th to the 20th week of pregnancy.

Persons who note their body temperature upon awakening, as many women do who wish to know when they are ovulating, might notice continued elevation of the temperature curve well beyond the time of the missed period; this is strongly suggestive of pregnancy.

During the primeval months of pregnancy, women might notice that they urinate frequently, because of pressure of the enlarging uterus on the bladder; feel exhausted and drowsy; dislike foods that were previously palatable; have a sense of pelvic heaviness; and are subject to vomiting (which can be severe) and to pulling pains in the sides of the abdomen, as the growing uterus stretches the round ligaments that help support it, singly or together. Most of these symptoms subside as pregnancy progresses. The signs and symptoms of pregnancy are so definite by the 12th week that the diagnosis is seldom a problem.

Biological tests for pregnancy depend upon the production by the placenta (the temporary organ that develops in the womb for the nourishing of the embryo and the elimination of its wastes) of chorionic gonadotropin, an ovary-stimulating hormone.

In practice, the tests have an accuracy of about 95 percent, even though false-negative tests might run as high as 20 percent in a series of cases. False-negative reports are frequently obtained during late pregnancy when the secretion of chorionic gonadotropin normally decreases. The possibility not only of false-negative but also of false-positive tests makes the tests, at best, probable rather than absolute evidence of the presence or absence of pregnancy. Chorionic gonadotropin in a woman’s blood or urine indicates only that she is harbouring living placental tissue. It does not tell anything about the condition of the fetus. In fact, the greatest production of chorionic gonadotropin occurs in certain placental abnormalities and disorders that can develop in the absence of a fetus.

Tests using immature mice (the Aschheim-Zondek test) and immature rats have been found to be extremely accurate. Tests using rabbits (the Friedman test) have been largely replaced by the more rapid and less expensive frog and toad tests.

The use of the female South African claw-toed tree toad, Xenopus laevis, is based on the discovery that this animal will ovulate and extrude visible eggs within a few hours after it has received an injection of a few millilitres of urine from a pregnant woman. The male common frog, Rana pipiens, will extrude spermatozoa when treated in the same way. Both of these tests are considered somewhat unsatisfactory because false-positive reactions are not uncommon.

Several immunological reaction tests in common use are based upon the inhibition of hemagglutination (clotting of red cells). A positive test is obtained when human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in the woman’s urine or blood is added to human chorionic gonadotropin antiserum (rabbit blood serum containing antibodies to HCG) in the presence of particles (or red blood cells) coated with human chorionic gonadotropin. The hormone from the woman will inhibit the combination of coated particles and antibody, and agglutination does not occur. If there is no chorionic gonadotropin in her urine, agglutination will occur and the test is negative.

Several “signs” noted by the doctor during an examination will recommend that a patient might be in the primeval months of pregnancy. Darkening of the areola of the breast (the small, coloured ring around the nipple) and prominence of the sebaceous glands around the nipple (Montgomery’s glands); purplish-red discoloration of the vulvar, vaginal, and cervical tissues; softening of the cervix and of the lower part of the uterus and, of course, enlargement and softening of the uterus itself are suggestive but not necessarily proof of pregnancy.

Click Here To Discover How to Treat Infertility Naturally; Without Drugs or Surgery.

Bleeding might occur at various times in pregnancy. Even though bleeding is alarming, it might or might not be a serious complication. The time of bleeding in the pregnancy, the amount, and whether or not there is pain might vary depending on the cause.

Bleeding in the first trimester of pregnancy is quite common and might be due to the following:

miscarriage (pregnancy loss)
ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy in the fallopian tube)
gestational trophoblastic disease (a rare condition that might be cancerous in which a grape-like mass of fetal and placental tissues develops)
implantation of the placenta in the uterus
infection

Bleeding in late pregnancy (after about 20 weeks) might be due to the following:

placenta previa (placenta is near or covers the cervical opening)
placental abruption (placenta detaches prematurely from the uterus)
unknown cause
What is placenta previa?

Placenta previa is a condition in which the placenta is attached close to or covering the cervix (opening of the uterus). Placenta previa occurs in about one in apiece 200 live births. There are three types of placenta previa:

total placenta previa – the placenta absolutely covers the cervix.

partial placenta previa – the placenta is partially over the cervix.

marginal placenta previa – the placenta is near the edge of the cervix.
What causes placenta previa?

The cause of placenta previa is unknown, but it is associated with certain conditions including the following:

women who have scarring of the uterine surround from previous pregnancies
women who have fibroids or other abnormalities of the uterus
women who have had previous uterine surgeries or cesarean deliveries
older moms (over age 35)
African-American or other minority race mothers
cigarette smoking
placenta previa in a previous pregnancy
Why is placenta previa a concern?

The greatest risk of placenta previa is bleeding (or hemorrhage). Bleeding often occurs as the lower part of the uterus thins during the third trimester of pregnancy in preparation for labor. This causes the area of the placenta over the cervix to bleed. The more of the placenta that covers the cervical os, the greater the risk for bleeding. Other risks include the following:

abnormal implantation of the placenta
slowed fetal growth
preterm birth
birth defects
infection after delivery
What are the symptoms of placenta previa?

The most common symptom of placenta previa is vaginal bleeding that is bright red and not associated with abdominal tenderness or pain, especially in the third trimester of pregnancy. However, apiece woman might exhibit different symptoms of the condition or symptoms might resemble other conditions or medical problems. Always consult your doctor for a diagnosis.

How is placenta previa diagnosed?

In addition to a complete medical history and physical examination, an ultrasound (a test using sound waves to create a picture of internal structures) might be used to diagnose placenta previa. An ultrasound can show the location of the placenta and how much is covering the cervix. A vaginal ultrasound might be more accurate in diagnosis.

Although ultrasound might show a low-lying placenta in primeval pregnancy, only a few women will develop true placenta previa. It is common for the placenta to move upwards and away from the cervix as the uterus grows, called placental migration.

Treatment for placenta previa:

Specific treatment for placenta previa will be determined by your doctor based on:

your pregnancy, overall health, and medical history
extent of the condition
your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
expectations for the course of the condition
your view or preference

There is no treatment to change the position of the placenta. Once placenta previa is diagnosed, additional ultrasound examinations are often performed to track its location. It might be necessary to deliver the baby, depending on the amount of bleeding, the gestational age, and condition of the fetus. Cesarean delivery is necessary for most cases of placenta previa. Severe blood loss might require a blood transfusion.

What is placental abruption?

Placental abruption is the premature separation of a placenta from its implantation in the uterus. Within the placenta are many blood vessels that grant the transfer of nutrients to the fetus from the mother. If the placenta begins to detach during pregnancy, there is bleeding from these vessels. The larger the area that detaches, the greater the amount of bleeding. Placental abruption occurs about once in apiece 120 births. It is also called abruptio placenta.

What causes placental abruption?

Other than direct trauma to the uterus such as in a motor automobile accident, the cause of placental abruption is unknown. It is, however, associated with certain conditions, including the following:

previous pregnancy with placental abruption
hypertension (high blood pressure)
cigarette smoking
multiple pregnancy
Why is placental abruption a concern?

Placental abruption is hazardous because of the risk of uncontrolled bleeding (hemorrhage). Even though severe placental abruption is rare, other complications might include the following:

hemorrhage and shock
disseminated vascular coagulation (DIC) – a serious blood clotting complication.
poor blood flow and alteration to kidneys or brain
stillbirth
postpartum (after delivery) hemorrhage
What are the symptoms of placental abruption?

The most common symptom of placental abruption is dark red vaginal bleeding with pain during the third trimester of pregnancy. It also can occur during labor. However, apiece woman might experience symptoms differently. Symptoms might include:

vaginal bleeding
abdominal pain
uterine contractions that do not relax
blood in amniotic fluid
nausea
thirst
faint feeling
decreased fetal movements

The symptoms of placental abruption might resemble other medical conditions. Always consult your doctor for a diagnosis.

How is placental abruption diagnosed?

The diagnosis of placental abruption is usually prefabricated by the symptoms, and the amount of bleeding and pain. Ultrasound might also be used to show the location of the bleeding and to check the fetus. There are three grades of placental abruption, including the following:

Grade 1 – small amount of vaginal bleeding and some uterine contractions, no signs of fetal distress or low blood pressure in the mother.
Grade 2 – mild to moderate amount of bleeding, uterine contractions, the fetal heart rate might shows signs of distress.
Grade 3 – moderate to severe bleeding or concealed (hidden) bleeding, uterine contractions that do not rest (called tetany), abdominal pain, low blood pressure, fetal death.

Sometimes placental abruption is not diagnosed until after delivery, when an area of clotted blood is found behind the placenta.

Treatment for placental abruption:

Specific treatment for placental abruption will be determined by your doctor based on:

your pregnancy, overall health, and medical history
extent of the disease
tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
expectations for the course of the disease
your view or preference

There is no treatment to stop placental abruption or reattach the placenta. Once placental abruption is diagnosed, a woman’s care depends on the amount of bleeding, the gestational age, and condition of the fetus. Cesarean delivery is performed for most cases of placental abruption and emergency delivery might be needed if hemorrhage occurs. Severe blood loss might require a blood transfusion.

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Reproductive Health and Islam

Written in Hindi by:
Nasiruddin Haidar Khan

Translated in English by:
Muhammadullah Khalili Qasmi

“Surely, Muslim men and Muslim women, believing men and believing women, devout men and devout women, truthful men and truthful women, patient men and patient women, humble men and humble women, and the men who give Sadaqah (charity) and the women who give Sadaqah, and the men who fast and the women who fast, and the men who guard their private parts (against evil acts) and the women who guard (theirs), and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember (Him) – for them, Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward. ” (The Quran 33:35)

When the order of Allah is same for men and women, then why there is discrimination against women?

The Question is of the health and life of woman
The health of woman and welfare of family

Accomplished under: Health & Population Innovation Fellowship
We do not like myths and delusions in stories only, but we believe in myths and delusions in our regular life. We live by their support. The myths and delusions play an important role to form views and build the artifact of social relation.

Sometimes, knowingly or unknowingly, such views are left to grow. Some of the views are based on them; especially such views contribute to formulate mental hegemony. The delusions and myths help in widening the gulf between two communities and efforts are prefabricated to like one on another.

This is true in regard to gender as well. In the relation of man and woman also, patriarchy takes the support of myths and delusions to retain the hegemony of man. The foundation of man’s ‘potency’ is ordered down on myths and delusions, while woman is taught it to be natural law. The hegemony of man is developed in her mental formulation as natural. For her, it is easy.

Reproductive health, reproductive right, population, family planning and birth control have got stuck into the cobweb of myths and delusions. These issues are utilized, on one side to promote hatred while on the other side to take control over wombs. But, most interesting thing is: where the voice of woman who owns the womb is? In this discussion, the voice of woman has been suppressed.

In this background, we have tried to look at the issue of reproductive health and right from the view of the woman. I believe that it will remain an issue of two communities or genders until it is seen with the view of woman. Therefore, it is necessary to challenge the myths and delusions; especially it is more essential in the case of Muslim women.

Population . . . Population . . . Population

If you ask anyone what is the root cause of most of the problems in the country. The common reply you will receive is: population!!! Someone calls ‘population blast’ while someone calls it: ‘population bomb’. Some people call it ‘gift’ while some others term it the root cause of all evils. Not only this, but also they think that if the growth of population is restrained the problems of most of the people will be solved and their lives will changed. This is common thinking, then who is increasing the population?

We speak of population, but we do not support the view that increasing population is cause of all problems in the world; since:
• Apart from India, there are several other countries where the growth of population is more than India.
• After Independence, as the population increased threefold, the production of grains also increased more than fourth time.
• Today, one couple gives birth to half of the children which they used to do 50 years ago (1970—5. 3 and 1994—3-5).
• Those who are poor, financially weak, ignorant and unhealthy, they produce more children.
• Those who are educated, financially sound and of middle class, they have less children.
• The women grappling discrimination.
• Generally, the women are not given the right to decide on their own.
• There are efforts to control the life of the woman in the study of religion.
• The population of India increased manifold after Independence; since the life and age of people improved i. e. death rate decreased.

Then Why Speaking of Population?

We speak of population, because it is the base of the politics of number.
On this base, a community is projected as the enemy of the other.
Since, in this matter, the voice of woman is not heard.
Since it is woman whose body is victim of this politics.

Why we Suggest Family Planning or Less Children

Since we believe that woman is not only child-bearing machine.
She has her own life, health and personality.
Every couple should decide how many children they want and when.
The government should not have the right to impose anything on couples.
On government level, there should neither be any such law nor any policy which might punish those having more children.

 
Some Religions Want to Increase their Population

It is a strong concept that the population of the country is increasing due to some classes and religious communities. This issue intensified once again in 2004 after the report of census about some religious communities. Especially some Hindu organizations, on the basis of estimations, started arguing that Muslims and Christians are increasing very speedily and Hindus are shrinking. They raise the slogan: “Hindu ghata, desh banta, Hindu bacha desh bacha” (Once Hindus will decrease, the country will be divided, If Hindus are innocuous the country is safe) and state that one day will come when Hindus will turn in minority. That will be a hazardous day, the country will disintegrate.

Those who bear such notions state that it is because increasing population is basic teaching of Islam. Islam rejects the concept of small family; since it is against the teachings the religion. This is the reason that Islam is against birth control and concept of family planning or using contraceptives.

Due to it, Muslims will prevail everywhere, not only in the country, but in the entire subcontinent. This reproduces another slogan: ‘woh paanch unke pachees’ (they five and their twenty five) i. e. a Muslim man marries four women and they give birth to twenty five children.   This concept can be seen on walls or in print in the form of slogans: ‘Musalmanon ka aik hi nara: ham paanch hamare pachees’ (Muslims have only one slogan: we five our twenty five).

The Gujrat Chief Minister Narendra Modi brought this number to 625. Modi says: “paanch na pachees, aane pachees na 625″ i. e. five will reproduce twenty five and twenty five will reproduce 625.   The thread of hatred goes beyond it as well, e. g. “the refugee camps of riot victims have turned into centres of bearing children”, “some people do not want to decrease population, we have to instruct lessons to them” or “they are hurdles in the way of progress” and “this is the reason that there is a long row of puncture-menders”.

. . . and see a police character of Vibhuti Narayan Rai’s novel also states some year ago: “The catuwe (circumcisers i. e. Muslims)  have no business but to produce children, they will bear children like mice and die. “  It reflects how deep this myth is rooted. Finally a day will come when the Muslims will outnumber the Hindus.   The increasing population of Muslims is hazardous since it threatens creation of another Pakistan.

As a result, a common man easily believes in all these views and the image of a particular community emerges in his mind as villain, a villain who is cause of apiece trouble, evil and difficulty. And based upon the view, the criterion of patriotism is also developed. A reader writes in his letter to the editor of a newspaper: “. . . This day the issue of population is the most serious issue. . . . Muslim brethren are also not less sinner in population growth. One Muslim brother has 8-10 children. . . . Do they not love the country?”

Such views cause separatist mind and hatred. We see such mentality occasionally in the society in different forms. These views are provided intellectual base as well. This is the reason that we find its glimpse in the scientific paper. An article published in ‘Artha Vijana’ reads: “In Islam, the institution of marriage is based on agreement, this agreement grants apiece Muslim to marry four women. In Islam, marriage is not only to increase family but to widen the network of followers of Islam. “

Generally one can hear such view among the social workers, physicians and health workers which reflects their mentality towards a particular community. For example:

• ”If the Muslim population kept of growing at this pace, one day they will outnumber the Hindus. ” (A cultural nationalist worker)
• ”Muslims do not adopt family planning, they are extremists, they state it is forbidden in Islam. ” (A progressive nationalist worker)
• ”I have observed great resistance in Muslims about it i. e. family planning. (A gynaecologist). “

These comments of people connected to different sectors are not mere shallow opinions. This is the concept which operates in the minds of people. Some might express it very openly, while some in particular time of emotion. This concept is part of politics against Muslims. None prefabricated effort to know the truth, they just believed the hearsay, i. e. :

• Muslim population is increasing very speedily.
• Muslims will outnumber the Hindus in some days and the country will be divided.
• Islam recommends increasing population.
• This is the reason that a Muslim man marries four women.
• This is the reason that they are against birth control.
• The Muslims adopt no family planning or birth control method.

 
What the Muslim Men Think?

On the other side, there is a strong voice among Muslims which affirms almost the same that was mentioned above. This class rejects the concept of family planning in principle. Maulana Syed Abul A’la Maududi is a great scholar of Indian subcontinent and founder of Jama’at-e-Islami. He wrote a book in 1935 named: ‘Islam aur Zabt-e-Wiladat’ (Islam and Birth Control) which was published by him in 1943. The value of this book can be understood in Maulana’s words: “The principles of birth control are absolutely against the Islamic principles. One of the objectives of Islam is to remove this human thinking which gives birth to movements like that of birth control. “  This book of Maulana Maududi came as powerful argument among the Muslims at least in the subcontinent against birth control and family planning. This is the reason that the book is in market after 65 years also. Those among Ulama who are opposed to it, in their arguments we can see an impression of the book. There are countless articles and books of this kind.

The Arguments Given in General

• This concept if a gift of the western culture.
• No such concept is granted in Islam.
• Planning is unlawful.
• It is conspiracy against Muslims.
• It aims to restrain their population.
• So that they are not powerful.
• This will grant women full freedom.
• It is conspiracy to promote obscenity.

i. e. Muslim are assaulted by two sides. There is one force which is trying to alienate Muslims and project them as enemy of the country. On the other side, there is another powerful force among Muslims which regards family planning an anti-Islamic concept. Those, who are struggling to weave a healthy artifact between development, family, woman and children, are also begin prey of these notions.

If we see carefully, the internal force of Muslims, in some way, has understanding with the force outside the community. Also, it provides adequate stuff for circulating to the force outside community.

But, it is collusion of man-dominated concepts. Where is the one whose body is the platform of such concepts, what she thinks? What are her grievances? Is she prefabricated only for sharing bed? Is she only child-being machine? The mainstream thinking about family planning inside and outside community indicates that in this theory there is no room for woman’s life, her personality, indistinguishability and thoughts. If there is no room, then how is it doable to speak of reproductive right and health? Is any human society and family doable by overlooking the half population of the world.

 
Why Speak of Women?

As we saw before, when this issue is discussed the women are not included, sometime in the study of community and sometime in the study of religion. For a Muslim woman, is there any thing like reproductive right or not? Can the population be seen only in the context of increasing number or it has some human aspect as well? Has the politics of numbers any place for human being?

For me, population has a human aspect. This means that the population has a direct link to the body of woman, her health and her life. If anyone states that the concept of family planning is against Islam, then it becomes necessary to see whether Islam states anything about the betterment of relations or not, what Islam states about conduct with women. Does the Muslim woman deserve the same which seems as ground reality? And further more, is really Islam against upbringing children, health of women and the concept planning and keeping the family in control? Actually, the responsibility of women’s bad conditions lies in the concept which regards men superior to women. This concept is called patriachism; its effects can clearly be seen in the explanations of religious concepts.

When the politics of womb is taking the form of number’s politics, then the speak of woman gets lost. But, we shall speak only the women; since it is only woman who can conceive, the nature has given womb only to her. It is violation of human rights if the womb is used by anyone else.

 
The Name Does Matter, It Made the Matter Mess

Birth control i. e. nasbandi (surgical sterilization)
Family planning i. e. nasbandi
Privar Niyojan (family planning) i. e. nasbandi
Tahdeed Nasl (limiting offspring) i. e. nasbandi i. e. terminating offspring
Nasl Kushi (genocide) i. e. conspiracy of terminating offspring i. e. nasbandi
Nasbandi and only nasbandi

Whether you take a layman or a religious scholar (alim), generally he takes privar niyojan or family planning as nasbandi. He regards planning and limiting family equal to terminating offspring. Planning is understood only as nasbandi. This is the most favourite method of birth control, but for women not for men.

People think that birth control and nasbandi are synonyms. When a man comes crossways planning birth control, he thinks that he will have to undergo nasbandi. Since yon chhamta for men??? (text missing: translator) which he links with his potency and power, perhaps it is the biggest reason to oppose it.

Whereas the responsibility of pregnancy lies on both man and woman, but the man has distanced himself from the responsibility of its controlling. Since the woman owns the womb and her position is secondary in social and family arena; therefore she only has been burdened with the responsibility of controlling it.

The reason is that during emergency the way nasbandi was promoted and force was used, it turned to be equivalent word for family planning. This has inflicted harm to the concept of family planning and particularly the health and life of women. Therefore, there should be efforts to strongly defuse this myth and delusion as primeval as possible. Therefore, it is superior for us to speak of reproductive health and right, to which family planning is a part.

What Reproductive Right and Health?

The word ‘Reproductive Rights and Health’ was known after the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in port (Egypt) in 1994. According to ICPD:

“Reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and its functions and processes. “

• Reproductive health therefore implies that people are healthy to have a satisfying and innocuous sex life
• They have the capability to reproduce
• And the freedom to decide when and how often to do so.

Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence, as it is mentioned in the Human Rights charter. “

Every country should ensure that men and women have access to health services on equal basis.

India also signed the proposals passed in the conference. It means that apiece Indian man and woman, especially the women should receive the reproductive rights and health decided by the ICPD; since ICPD believes in the existence of gender discrimination and appeals to remove it.

In the ICPD conference and later, there were efforts to raise the issue that the matter of reproductive health and rights is not in accordance with the principles of Islam. This issue surfaced in the Beijing International Women Conference in 1995. Several Islamic and orthodox Christian countries opposed many proposals of the two conferences.   The ICPD, for the first time discussed reproductive health in the circle of human rights and took unanimous decision to remove gender discrimination. The extremists and orthodox did not like it. They contradicted that inside marriage the Muslim woman do not have equality and reproductive rights as the other women have.

It was a new challenge visaged by organizations working with Muslim women. The Muslim women also grappling the same problems of reproductive health which are visaged by other women. Here also, death of women during pregnancy and birth is common. There is no access to health services. There is inequality in marriage relation. (The below-mentioned example will confirm the same. )
 
Muslim Woman and Reproductive Right

In view of this challenge, in 1998 ‘Sisters in Islam’  of Malasia held a workshop on: ‘Islam, Reproductive Health and Women’s Rights’. It aimed at forming an understanding about the reproductive health and women’s rights in the light Islamic teachings. It was attended by several renowned women activists, academic and Islamic scholars most important among them were: Masdar F Masoodi from Indonesia, Dr Abdullah Al-Nayeem, Dr Amina Wadood, Dr Fati Usman from USA and Dr Abder Rahim Omran from Al-Azhar University.  

After discussion, the workshop passed resolution that Islam gives the below mentioned reproductive rights.
• Right of child inside marriage
• Right to make decision on reproductive issues without fear, coercion and violence. It includes the right of choosing partner, right to select the contraceptive method, right of children’s number and spacing between them and right of innocuous sexual relation.
• Right to access to ideal and cheapest health services, the right of help from family, community and government, the right of privacy.
• Right of reproductive security and health
• Right to point-blank information, education and communication
• Right to have satisfactory and innocuous sexual relation inside marriage

Zaina Anwar  states that the workshop came to a conclusion that the four principles of ICPD related to reproductive health and right are in harmony with the Islamic principles, they are not contradicted to apiece other. The four principles of ICPD:
• Right to decide freely about the number of children and gap between them along with right of information and recourses
• Right to access to ideal of sexual and reproductive health
• Right to make decision on reproductive issues without fear, coercion and violence
• Right to have satisfactory and innocuous sexual relation

The Islamic scholars concur that these rights are extracted from the five objectives of Shariah:
• Protection of life
• Protection of beliefs
• Protection of lineage
• Protection of mind
• Protection of property

According to Islamic scholars attending the conference, in the Islamic Jurisprudence, the rulings and laws which serve the objectives of Shariah are considered lawful. They believed that “the circle of the five objectives of Shariah is wider than that of four principles”.

The conclusion of this workshop is very important as per the life of Muslim women. Based on this, it will be difficult to state that it is conspiracy of western countries to promote salacity which is against the principles of Islam.

 
Ground Realities According to Muslim Women

Condition of Reproductive Health
 
But, in the ground reality of reproductive health, the voice of women is unheard. It is not only a matter of health but also a major issue of human right. If you are not to believe, listen it in their own words:

Condition of Muslim Women in 1935-36

“Muhammadi: I have apiece thing, husband, home and children, but youthfulness? Who will call me youthful? I look like old Mohammedan of seventy years. Every-day disease and every-year childbearing, but who will be fortunate than me.

. . . the Mohammedan doctor asked me my age. I said: 32 years.

. . . I said: Miss! Why do you smile, you should know that I was married away at 17 and from that time I bore one child apiece year, except the one when my husband went to wilayat (Europe) for one year and second time when we had a quarrel. . . .

. . . Neither he minded night nor day, he always needed wife. And not only wife, he is not abstaining to go here and there as well.

Muhammadi: Moreover, he threatens: if you suckle I will have a second marriage, I want woman always, I will not have so much patience that you keep yourself busy in looking after the children. . . .

Aaftaab: Might Allah save from such men! Animals also have some fear. They are worse than the animals. Might no one has to grappling such men! . . .

(But, when the doctor finds out that months-long patient Muhammadi is expecting, she feels surprised. )

Muhammadi: I said, miss, your are in superior condition, you earn, take and have sound sleep. While to us, (as the byword says) though the dead goes to hell or heaven, people mind to have their sweet only. So, whether the wife is fine or dying, the men mind merely their business of lust.

Mumtaz of Forty in Sixties

Mumtaz lives in a village near Lucknow. She is around 40, but seems quite older. She is fifth-class passed and was married at 16. Soon the couple had seven children; six daughters and one son. Twice she had miscarriage. Earlier, she used to make bangles, but successive child birth, deteriorating health and weakening eyesight prefabricated apiece thing mess. Now, she lives by sewing and weaving. The husband sells bangles, but the income is not so much that they can live comfortably.

How did you have so many children? “Just to have son, we had so many. ” Mumtaz says.

My husband does not care for health. He did not even speak of children ever, but only he insisted for a son. He never listens, just two minute long love and nothing else. Husband can have intercourse when he likes but she can't state if she wishes so. There is force as well which she dislikes. She says: “A forced thing is never good, will we like if someone thrusts food in our mouth? Forcing is crime. “

Did you adopt any contraceptive method or not? “The husband used not to do it earlier, but now he does. Had I been to any method it would have been so good. “

It is said: It is good to have less children, is it right? “Why not, if we would also have less family our condition would not have been so. “

Shagufta Says

Shagufta is 35, she has four children. Her nikah was solemnized at 13 and met her husband at 16. She has two daughters and two sons. She did schooling till 8th and knows Arabic and Urdu. She instructs Arabic to the children of the locality. The husband is a tailor. They do not have any discrimination towards daughters.

Do we have control over number of children? Shagufta replies: “Though the children are given by Allah, but it is in our hands also. “

How it is in your hands? Is there any method? “Nasbandi is wrong, but a woman can have it. There are other things, we use them. ” Shagufta informs.

Now, her health is not so well, so she does not like sex, but she cares for the desire of her husband.

Sumaira does not like more Children

Sumaira is 27 year old. She was married at 18 and had two children within four years. The husband is regularly ill; her health is also deteriorating steadily. She feels tiredness and does not have food full of stomach.

Now, she likes no more children. She says: “How would I bring them up, it is difficult to look after those are already born. ” Why? “Small family is in one’s hands, small family is peaceful. ” She states that children are gift from Allah, but it is we who serve as resources.

Sumaira aspires: “Had I opted for operation it would have been better. “

Why does she not resort to any other method? In fact, Sumaira is neither aware of any contraceptive method nor anyone came to her area to tell about.  

She Likes to Adopt Birth Control

The condition of women is well understood by those working among women. Naish Hasan is associated with the movement and works in Lucknow. She states about Muslim women: “Women are trapped in the study of religion. They are tied with several traditions and other things. I know many women opting for birth control secretly or wishing to have it. It is one’s private affair. It is up to the husband and wife to decide when and how many children they want to have. There is no wrong in resorting to any contraceptive method. “

Women Want to Get out of the Trap

Likewise, Shakila who works with ‘Aghaz-e-Insaf’ in another village says: “Muslim women want to have less children. This enthusiasm is quite visible. They wish to place a stop to swift and successive conception and the children are born at considerable gap, but they do not the right decide all these things, whereas the couple should have the right to make decision. Birth control is adopted in many Muslim countries. “

Women and Film

Pakistan is an Islamic country. The Islamic principles are the source of its rules and regulations. Religion many a times interferes in one’s individualized life. However, reproductive health is a major issue there. Film is strong medium to convey a message. In Pakistan also, so many films were made, but it is proper to mention two of them; one is ‘Aahat’ second is ‘Aik Hi Rasta’. Aahat has been a favourite drama of Pakistani television. The central theme of both the films is reproductive health of woman, her life and true mirror of the woman prefabricated as child-bearing machine. Not only this, but also how the health of woman causes difficulty for the entire family, it can be seen in the television drama and films. These two are reflecting the life of Muslim women. How?

It is in one’s Hand to Change Boon to Bane

The film ‘Aik Hi Rasta’ was prepared by Shirin Pasha for The Film Makers Pvt. Ltd. It represents the feeling of man. The film touches the issues like reproductive health, birth control, family development under the Islamic Nizam (system) in Pakistan. But, from nowhere it looks like advertisement. The film evolves around the thinking of man in spite of being woman-centric.

‘Satputri Maan’ has a son Noor. Once it used to be a family of much land. The family kept on increasing, the land kept on being distributed and the family went on scattering. Now, small land is not enough for a family, so the family members turned to the cities, whereas Noor Muhammad remains with his mom in village.

Noor marries a very thin girl Sakina who is about 15-16. The husband and wife begin the life and work hard. Meanwhile, within six years of their marriage, Sakina has four children. She starts falling ill and keeps on withering. People think that she has been victim of evil eye.

“As there should be some distance between two plants, rather as for a good crop sometime the land is left empty, the same rule is applied to women as well. ” Noor is not convinced by this argument of Zainab aunty.

Sakina, the life partner of Noor, is unable to express her grief. She passes away at the time of delivering the seventh baby. The seventh daughter is adopted by her paternal uncle.

Noor feels it in his old age. He says: “I started feeling she is not having equal share of life with me. With the change in the viewpoint of modern age, not only the already departing pleasures can be regained but the society can be turned prosperous. “

Ultimately, Noor feels regretful: “Sakina asked me some period of time for herself and for her children, but I could not give it to her. “

There is illusion of language in the film. The environment also has been given due importance, it did not look like artificial. Instead of being Pakistani film, it reflects the Indian environment. The regret of Noor in the film is in fact the regret of male society what responsibility they have towards the health of women.

A dialogue of the film is weightier than all the arguments given against reproductive health. “It is in man’s hand to change a boon to bane, Allah has given us thinking power, we have to decide what to do. “

 
Let us Listen to the Men as well

Parvez is about 50 year old. He learnt up to high school and now he is doing tailoring. He was married at 18 and had so many children. He is shy of telling: 7 daughters, 1 son.

Was there any plan for children? “No plan at all, just they kept on coming up. We had all daughters while inactivity for the son. What to do, the boy came later, then we had an operation. “

Yours? “No, the wife’s. “

We heard it is forbidden in Islam? “Yes, it is, but I did not have the operation, only the wife got it, however happened what happened, but nothing takes place without the wish of Allah, it was his wish so it did take place. “

Did you use any other thing? “Yes I did, but to no avail. “

However, how many children one should have? “See, 2-3 are enough, we were stuck inactivity a boy and have all daughters. The expense also multiplied, they are to be married away, there is only trouble ahead. It was wrong that we married at primeval age and secondly we had so many children. “

Why were you hot of boy? It is stated boy and girl are same. “How a girl can be equal to boy, if you want you can state anything, but a boy is boy. “

Did you ever used force? “Force. . . no. But, whenever I demanded, so whether she is well or not, I got my demand fulfilled. We did not fight ever for this matter. “

This is the life of some women, but in this light we can have a look at the condition of Muslim women. Only by proclaiming reproductive health and right, neither it is reached nor are the women let to achieve it.
 
The Religion is for People’s Relief

The Quran is the most important source of Islamic sciences. The words of the Quran are the foundation of Islam. After interviewing the scholars of Al-Azhar , it is clear that Islam does not want to create trouble for its followers. It is one of the principles of Islam. Some of the Quranic verses bear witness to it:

• ”Allah intends (to provide) assist for you and does not intend (to create) hardship for you. ” (Surah Baqrah 2:185)
• ”And did not impose any hardship on you in the religion. ” (Surah Hajj 22:78)
• ”Allah intends to make things simple on you. And man has been created weak. ” (Surah Nisa 4:28)
• ”Allah does not obligate anyone beyond his capacity. ” (Surah Baqrah 2:286)

Likewise, there are traditions:

• Do not get harm to yourselves and do not get others in trouble. (Narrated by Malik 2:745 and Ibn Majah 2:784)
• ”Religion is very simple and whoever overburdened himself in his belief he unsuccessful to be healthy to continue in that way. So you should be on the right path, as you are in the morning and night and in the journey of primeval night. ” (Bukhari & Muslim )

Now, the question is if swift and successive conception affects the health of woman, more children cause trouble for family and the children are deprived of proper upbringing and education, then whether family planning is against the Quran and the hadith of the Messenger, peace be upon him? I think: no; since it is clear from the verses of the Quran and these traditions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that Islam does not want to see its followers to grappling poverty and trouble.

From the Point of Islamic Traditions

Hadith is the most important and oldest source of Islamic tradition. There are many examples of ‘azl’ (coitus interruptus) mentioned in hadith. ‘Mishkwat Sharif’ is collection of important traditions on different topics. In this book, under the chapter of intercourse , such kinds of traditions are mentioned. The Arab society knew one method to refrain conception which they called: ‘azl’ i. e. withdrawing penis during intercourse with woman at the time of ejaculation  i. e. the method of intercourse in which a man avoids letting his sperm in the vagina of wife. The Prophet (peace be upon him) knew it but he did not stop from it. Neither the Quran indicates against it by any of its verse. In the traditions of Sahaba, the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), azl finds mentioning:

It is narrated from Hadhrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): “We used to do azl (coitus interruptus) at the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him). ” (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmizi)

Hadhrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: “We used to do azl while the Quran was being revealed. ” (Bukhari, Muslim)

The narration of Sahih Muslim adds: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) knew about us doing azl, but he did not stop it. “

Likewise, there is another hadith narrated by Hadhrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) in which he went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to ask whether azl is granted so that conception can be avoided, the Prophet replied: “You can do so if you wish. “

Hadhrat Abu Sayeed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) also narrates about azl. According to hadith, a man came and asked about avoiding conception, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) replied: “If you wish, you can do. ” (Ibn Hanbal, Muslim)

These traditions nowhere establish that the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his time prohibited the practice of azl. There are other traditions which establish that at the time of the Prophet this method was used for contraception.

Some arguers place azl also in the category of murder. In this regard, a hadith is very important. Hadhrat Abu Sayeed Khudri narrates: “A Jew asked me that azl is a kind of burying alive though at very small level. I came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and told him what the Jew said. The Prophet stated twice: lied the Jew, lied the Jew. “

Dr Rafat Usman , the Professor of Al-Azhar, Egypt states about family planning that there is nothing in the Quran which recommends prohibition of preventing conception. It is evidenced from hadith that the sahaba used to practice coitus interruptus at the time of the Prophet while the Quran was revealed. It was their method of birth control.

Dr Abdel Rahim Omran claims that after intense research and exploration of Ulama, there is no verse found in the Quran which prevents the husband and wife to keep gap between pregnancies or limit the number of children as per their physical, economic and cultural ability. Shortly, there is nothing in the Quran which rejects the azl or coitus interruptus prevalent at the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

The Indian scholar, Allama Shah Zaid Abul Hasan Farooqi, Sajjadah Nashin (Successor) of Khanqah Shah Abul Khair Delhi, says: “Every contraceptive method is called ‘azl’ in Arabic, this i. e. azl can be adopted either by man or by woman. “

Argument of Imam Ghazali

Abu Hamid Muhammad bin Muhammad Al-Ghazali is known around the world with ‘Al-Ghazali’. He was genius Islamic scholar and philosopher, his masterpiece book is: ‘Ihyau Uloomiddin’ (The Revival of the Religious Sciences). This book is considered an important resource of Islamic studies. A chapter of the book is: Kitabu Adabin Nikah i. e. the etiquettes of marriage. Along with many other things Imam Ghazali discusses azl also.

Imam Ghazali states that according to him azl is lawful. He explains in detail that azl is neither murder nor abortion, as some people argue against it.

Imam Ghazali divided azl to five categories, he recommends two of them very strongly. One of them is very powerful argument in the favour of the women.

In his view, azl is granted in order “to keep the beauty of woman persistent”. Why? Since, according to Ghazali, “childbirth is troublesome process, which sometimes endangers the life of woman; she loses her health, her beauty and charming. ” Azl will prevent successive conception and retain her health.

Ghazali says: “So many children cause various problems; one has to do more hard work to earn. Sometimes, the lawful sources are not enough, so one is forced to adopt the unlawful ways. ” Azl can be adopted to prevent numerous children. It is not wrong in the eye of Imam Ghazali. Why? Since less troubles are helpful in religious matters and one finds more time to worship Allah.

It is not wrong to state that at the time Islam arose in Arabia, the Arab knew only one method to refrain pregnancy i. e. azl. They might not know other methods. Now, so many contraceptive methods have been discovered. The today’s contraceptive methods to retain the health of woman, refrain swift conception, keep the family under control or small, are extension of azl somehow or the other. If we concur with Allama Shah Zaid, then all these methods are lawful on the basis of azl.

 
Will the Voice of Woman be Heard

If man does not comprehend the problem of woman, she is ill or she fears that conception might threaten her life or her troubles might increase or the family might undergo difficulties, then according to retired professor of Al-Azhar University and Islamic scholar Dr Rafat Usman: “The woman can use contraceptives as per her own experience. She does not require the view of doctor as well. She can adopt any method to escape conception. This is because the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him) advised repeatedly to refrain undergoing any harm. If doctor also recommends that conception might inflict any harm to her, then the husband is strictly prohibited to stop his wife to resort to any method. It is haram for him to stop. In both the cases, a woman can decide herself, and once doctor also concur to it then it is haram for him to stop her. “

Likewise, late Dr Abdel Rahim Omran, former Chief Population Adviser of Al-Azhar University, expresses his view saying: “If there is tension or dispute between husband and wife, then the concept of mutual harmony and approval creates difficulty, especially when the woman is concerned inferior to man. According to Hanbali Fiqh, in special cases (as for the welfare of family), the wife can overlook the view of husband. Similarly, if one more child might have bad effect on her health and life or the position of family is not too good to nurture the children well, so in such cases the woman has right to use contraceptives without husband’s permission. “

Another scholar and expert of Islamic Jurisprudence in Al-Azhar, Dr Hamid Abu Talib says: “In sexual relations, the wife also has the same rights as men. She also owns the right to decide when to make the relation. The marital agreement of Muslims grants sexual relation and enjoyment between wife and husband, this enjoyment is for both the spouses, not only for husband. “

Maulana Umar Ahmad Usmani is an Islamic scholar of Pakistan. He has been also associated with Darul Uloom Deoband. His Tafseer (commentary) of the Quran ‘Fiqhul Quran’ is very famous. Maulana Usmani writes at a place: “If someone’s wife is sick or the family life is unwell, then this precaution can be opted for, rather it should be adopted so that there is proper gap between children and the life of wife and previous children is not endangered and there is no disturbance in their education, nurturing, health etc. “

 
Fatwas of Jamia Al-Azhar, port (Egypt)

Jami’ Al-Azhar Al-Sharif issued various fatwas about keeping the family in control. An important fatwa was released by Al-Azhar 70 years before:

(1) A mortal has one child. He fears if more children will be born he will not be healthy to nurture them, he also fears that swift and repeated conception will affect his wife’s health. He wants to know whether he and his wife can adopt any method prescribed by doctor to keep gap between children so that they can lighten their burden. (Question place forward on 25 Jan 1937)

The then Mufti of Egypt, Shaikh Abdul Muqeet Saleem replied the question, he said: “We went through the question and we believe that according to Hanafi teaching (Fiqhi school of Imam Abu Hanifah), as per the conditions mentioned in the question, there is no wrong in adopting birth control.

(2) A married man has a child. He fears that more children will cause him trouble and he will grappling difficulty in bringing them up. Can the husband and wife adopt any method of birth control to retain the health of mom and to refrain more economic burden on father? (This question was received by the Fatwa Committee of Al-Azhar on 10 March 1953)

Answer: We went through the question and we believe that according to Shafe’i Fiqh (Fiqhi School of Imam Shafe’i), birth control is not prohibited. Therefore, if it aims at protecting people from unnecessary economic difficulties and health-related problems, then the committee grants it (birth control). Allah says: “Allah intends (to provide) assist for you and does not intend (to create) hardship for you. “  (Surah Baqrah 2:185) But, it is prohibited to adopt permanent method of contraception.

The present chief imam, Shaikhul Azhar Professor Muhammad Syed Tantawi also issued several fatwas from his office about birth control.  

(3) One couple lives in a 2-room set flat with one child. They have an income of 100 LE per month in 1998. They wan to prevent conception for some time so that they can have proper gap for upbringing the child. They have firm belief in Allah as Almighty and Omnipresent. Can they do so? i. e. can they prevent conception?

Tantawi says: I replied that so long as they aim at upbringing the child, they can do so definitely.

(4) A couple lives with its daughter and son in 3-room set flat. They had an income of 200 LE per month in 1998. This much suffices hardly for two time bread. They want to refrain future conception so that they can lead their private life separately in their rooms. They wanted to know whether they can do so.

Professor Tantawi replied: There is nothing wrong and against Shariah; since they want to bring up their children well, as the Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

“Teach you children to offer salah when they are seven years old, while at 10 beat them if they do not offer salah and hold separate bed for them. “

(5) A couple lives with its three children. They neither have any kind of economic problem nor any health related matter. But, they wish to prevent conception for some time. This decision has nothing to do with their individualized life; rather they want to do so in view of the need of the country. They feel that the country at this time needs family planning. Is it allowed?

Tantawi states: I believe that their sentiment towards the country is appreciable, it should be admired. Your interest in the development of the community is in harmony with the teachings of the Prophet, as the hadith says:

“One who is not worried about Muslims’ well being, he is not one from amongst us. “

If you think so, then there is no wrong in preventing conception as long as you wish; since you have good intention.

 
Concept of Family Planning and Contribution of Indian Ulama

It is common thinking that the Indian Ulama can't even think of matters like family planning. The opponents state that the concept of birth control has intruded from outside or Western countries. It is a conspiracy against Muslims. It is being hatched to control the population of Muslims. In this opposition, there is no mentioning of the lives of Muslim women and their health.

But, deliberate fro a moment. The Indian Ulama have contributed a lot to Islamic studies, they have carried it forward. Many of Indian institutes are known around the world. It accommodates several centres and characters of religious thoughts.

Then, this question might rise in anyone’s mind whether the Indian Ulama and intellectuals have not expressed their views about issues like health of women, family planning, upbringing children, difficulties of changing scenario or birth control? Did they not regard it a subject of their research?

After extensive research, adequate information comes out. These information are not so common, as most of the works have been prefabricated in Urdu; therefore their access is limited to a particular circle. This author is not a scholar of Islam, but surely he is student pursuing the knowledge of Islam. Being a journalist by profession; it is a part of his profession to do research. He tried to make the views and information of the scholars as base of his study who have discussed this topic.

If we keep our mind open and do not look for the ’smell’ of conspiracy, then we might see the thing which not only can change the picture of Muslims but also that of other classes of the society.

In this study, we will mention only the things which are related to Indian Ulama. It is surprising that as much the treasure of knowledge the Indian Ulama possess by centuries, it is with no one in the Islamic World. In spite of it, when the health of woman, reproductive health, birth control or family planning is discussed, the view of Islamic scholars is seen almost equal to nothing. Whereas in fact, there is a long row of sensitive Islamic scholars who believed that thinking about one’s family is in complete accordance with the spirit of Islam. It is probable rather true that the terms we use this day were not necessarily used those days as well. Many things come up with new study and new form with changing time and they have ruling according to today’s values. In next lines, we shall mention some Indians who have contributed a lot to this matter. Their views are necessary to be presented.

 (One)

Fatawa Alamgiri: Permission of Azl and Abortion

‘Fatawa Alamgiri’ is known in many countries as ‘Fatawa Hindiyah’. This collection of Islamic law was compiled by almost five hundred Ulama on the order of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (who is also called ‘Alamgir’). It has 30 sections. It is considered an important source of Hanafi Fiqh.   In the fatwas of Fiqhi school of Imam Abu Hanifah, azl (coitus interruptus or any method of avoiding conception) and abortion were permitted in clear words.

According to it: “If the condition of time is not good and the children are feared to be deprived of proper education and upbringing and to deviate from religion, then azl is allowable. ” Generally, abortion is stated to be prohibited in Islam, but the fatwa says: “If the body parts of foetus are not yet created, it is granted to abort it. ” Those who issued fatwa they even said: “It is allowable in our age in any case. ” These Ulama are of the view that “in general conditions, for azl it is necessary to have the permission of wife”.

There is another condition in which these two things are allowed. If a woman is conceived who already has a child to suckle, also she has no enough resources to keep a wet nurse and she fears the life of the child, then she can opt for abortion, provided it is within 120 days of conception.

It is surprising that in spite of so much clarity, this issue has been a cause of dispute till today. i. e. if the condition of the time is so that proper upbringing and education of children is impossible or difficult, then azl is permissible. Azl is mentioned here as a method to prevent conception, thus it can be stated that other similar methods which prevent conception are lawful. (See the complete fatwa at the end)

(Two)

Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlwai

In the Persian Tafseer of Shah Abdul Aziz, written in nineteenth century, there is a fatwa which says: In the light of reliable and well-known traditions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), azl is lawful. Using medicines for preventing conception whether before or after azl is lawful and permissible like azl. Imam Shafe’i states in the commentary of the verse of the Quran (4:3-4) that in this verse single marriage has been advised; since it is superior method to refrain many children.  

 
(Three)

Iqbal and Concept of Population Hundred Year Ago

Shaikh Muhammad Iqbal  (9 November 1877 – 21 April 1938) was not only poet but also he was renowned scholar of Islamic philosophy. It seems a bit surprising that Iqbal also talked of putting a stop to increasing population, whereas there is vast difference between his and present time. The concept of looking at the population has also changed. But the matter related to population discussed by Iqbal has its importance even today. He wrote a book on economics hundred years ago in 1904 in Urdu named: ‘Ilmul Iqtisad’. Its price was one rupee. Iqbal was then an Assistant Professor in Government College, Lahore.

In this book, he discusses population in detail. His writing is highly influenced by the population theory of Malthus. Out of five sections of the book, three chapters of one section are related to population. In these chapters, he mentions economic resources, scopes of employment and scarcity of land for inhabitation due to increasing population. Also, he discusses its effect on family and upbringing of children.

At a place, he writes: “Any theory or belief which can't march with the pace of human social system and its mental development will vanish due to not fulfilling the modern needs of mankind. “

He believes: “Increasing population beyond proper limit causes poverty and other adverse effects. ” He explains the principle of Malthus in detail and tries to make comprehend the ways of increasing population and its effects in diagram. He writes: “A country where population is increasing unrestrained, the inhabitants should show some wisdom and adopt the ways which check the increasing population. The reproductive skill of mankind is naturally so prefabricated up that if its functionality is not prevented deliberately or by chance, it might lead mankind to disaster and destruction. “

Today, one might be quite right to argue the view of Iqbal on the effects of population. Many things have changed absolutely today. The new research recommends looking at this issue with new prospect. However, in this discussion, it is necessary to note what was the thinking one hundred year ago about population. But, it is at least clear that Iqbal supports adopting methods to control population. He appreciates these methods and states if there had not been these methods the population would have greatly increased, the people will run shortage of economic resources, poverty will increase more, the resources of livelihood will lessen, epidemic will burst out, crimes will multiply . . . etc.  

Therefore, according to Iqbal: “The only way to get out of the utter of this black monster is to control the population, so that the current economic resources can be protected. ” He states that the land is also not so enough that people can reap the advantage of increasing population. “Therefore, it is our duty to adopt the methods to restrain the population which are in our control. ” Iqbal discusses his view in detail about controlling the population. The hundred year old concept of Iqbal can thus be understood in his words. He advocated controlling child marriage and polygamy. When Iqbal is of the view then it can't be rejected as mere propaganda and conspiracy. In his words: “In our country, economic and livelihood resources are less and the population is increasing day by day. The nature cures it with famines and epidemics. But, we should free ourselves from the constitutional bond of childhood marriages and polygamy, spend our small quality more wisely, increase the remuneration rate of our country by paying attention to handicrafts and production and worry ourselves with farsightedness about the consequence of our people so that our country is fortified against the awful consequences and reach the height of civilization and culture to which real welfare is attached. Therefore, economically it is the welfare of mankind to refrain fulfilling the animalistic lust as much as doable and bear lesser number of children as much as possible. This neutral can be reached by late marriages or in other words by lessening the birth rate and controlling the carnal desires generally. “

Though, we oppose using any force, but Iqbal is of the view that stern steps also should be taken if it is the question of economic progress of the country.

In the preface of the book published in 2004 in Pakistan, Dr Saleem Akhtar writes: In Ilmul Iqtisad what seems astonishing is the establishment of Iqbal on family planning and his firm belief in its advantages.

On the contrary, Professor Dr Rasheed Ahmad Jalandhari  in his article refers to the book published in 1977 by Iqbal Academy saying that Iqbal had a look on the subject with Islamic viewpoint.

According to Professor Jalandhari, Iqbal writes: “The Islamic Shariah did not overlook to give advice in the social matters. The ruling was left to any knowledgeable scholar to decide the matter as per the need of the time and conditions. Therefore, if one does not aim at fulfilling lust only, there is need in fact and the couple approve it, then as far as my knowledge goes, birth control is not offensive in Shariah. According to Shariah principles, it is known that a husband can't force her wife against her will to reproduce children. But, whatever presently happens in the world mostly depends on fulfilling lust, and doing so for lust, according to me, is reaching to an extent of haram. Whatever I have expressed from Islamic aspect, it is not as per a Shariah expert, but it is based only on my knowledge and understanding.

As a whole, it can be stated that the theme of Iqbal’s view is that if reason is applied with farsightedness, such methods can be applied which prevent conception. Had Iqbal felt that it was Western propaganda and conspiracy, he must have opposed it. Not only this, but as far as we know, Iqbal had no major change in his views later also.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Imamul Hind Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was one of the founders of modern India. He was known as Islamic scholar. His view about family planning (as it was those days known with the term) was: “There seems no reason for Shariah to interfere in the matter of birth control. It is absolutely a medical and social matter. If reasonable people think that it is necessary to be adopted by the society, they can do so.   There is hardly any aalim having such a clear-cut view, free from doubt and complication.

Dr Zakir Hussain

Zakir Hussain was also a great scholar. As educationist and president of India, he did not hesitate to express his view on birth control. As we know, he wrote a booklet on family planning in 1969 in Urdu. He was of the view that any belief including Islam does not interfere in how many children one should have.

 
Allama Kakorwi from Lucknow

There is a scholar from Lucknow who worked on family planning. It is Allama Mustafa Hasan Alwi Kakorwi. He was a graduate of Darul Uloom Deoband. He did his honours in Persian and was an MA and PhD. He used to instruct in the Arabic Faculty of Lucknow University. He wrote a booklet in 1976 videlicet ‘Khandani Mansooba Bandi aur Ulama-e-Islam ke Faisali’ (Family Planning and Decisions of Muslim Ulama). That time 75000 duplicates of the booklet were published. The booklet is known with another title: ‘Islam ka Mauqif and Tahdeed-e-Nasl’ i. e. Stand of Islam on Birth Control. There is no question of Allama Kakorwi being a scholar of Islam; therefore the booklet is very important. Not only this, but this booklet was also published at a time when this matter was much politicized in the country. The booklet is not acquirable now, not even with his friends. Yes, they state that he wrote a book which created havoc at that time.

In the beginning of the book Allama Kakorwi mentioned a hadith which indicates to the direction of his thinking on the matter. The hadith is: “Having less children is prosperity while having more children is a kind of poverty. ” Further more, he wrote the verse on the cover:

Toda kamr-e-shakh ko kasrat ne samr ki
dunya mein granbari-e-awlad ghazab hai

(Bearing abundant fruits causes the branch to break down; likewise having more children is cause of trouble in the world)

From both the references, one can have an intent of the concept of Allama Mustafa. In his eyes, more children are a cause of trouble.

He nowhere rejects the religious concept, as he says: “Increasing offspring and having more or less children is our religious and natural right, but to an extent which is in accordance with our personal, family and country’s resources, then it will be counted among the fundamental needs of the religion. ” (Bolded by the author) But, he is not in favour of any ban or legal binding on the matter; since if it is so, then according to him: “the fatwa and ruling about the matter is that it will be indexed as interference in religion. “

Allama Kakorwi goes ahead and clarifies his stand: “But if, due changing time, the economic resources and national issues are so that it is hindering the development, and thus it is banned, then according to the explanation of Ulama, the fatwa is that it is neither interference in the matter of belief nor it is right to oppose it; since it is the stipulation of time and in the favour of the country.

In this booklet of 36 pages, he refers to the Quran, tradition and the views of Ulama as references. It is common thinking that a madrasa-educated mortal is traditionalist and conservative. But, it is surprising that Allama Kakorwi, who graduated at Deoband, is more visionary in his thinking than many modern educated people.

If you are not sure, you should see these views: “As far as I know, I can state that the concept of Islam about more or less children is quite open without any restriction. But, if more children cause trouble for the family or interrupt the social and national system, then imposing ban is not against the Shariah as per the explanations of Ulama. The increasing number of family members is a boon only when they are well eligible and skilled, and they can be eligible only when they are properly nurtured and educated as per the need of the time. And, it depends on the economic condition of the parents, the resources of income and expenses are well; otherwise the same children will be a cause of trouble and difficulty, and mostly it happens so. ” He adds: “But, if our life system feels that more children will be useful for the family or community in future days, it is necessary to pay attention to it  i. e. the teachings of Islam will achievement parallel with the pace of time and will not place hurdles in its way.

 
Interview with Maulana Kalb Sadiq

Islam also Grants Birth Control

Maulana Kalb Sadiq is known as Muslim scholar not only in India, but in the entire world. He openly follows the women’s rights in Islam and supports birth control. Due to these thought he hits the headlines. He has a complaint about media that they most of the time draft a news without understanding his views fully. As he speaks of ‘birth control’ and media publish it calling ‘family planning’. He makes a difference between the two. He regards birth control a need of the society. Maulana Sadiq, Vice-President of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, states in which people (Ummah) the Prophet will take pride, which is ignorant and backward? He states that Islam forbids abortion, but using methods preventing conception is not forbidden. He further supports his views that there are fatwas which confirm that using methods of birth control is no where prohibited in Islam. But, he does not like the government to compel and use any force to used methods of limiting the family. He goes to such an extent that without advancing in the field of modern education Muslims can't progress.

Important extracts from his interview:

Q. Why you use ‘birth control’ instead of ‘family planning’?

Since, the concept of family planning was not present in the era of the Prophet (peace be upon him), but birth control was there.

Q. Is there a place for birth control in Islam?

Among Muslims, there are two major sects; Shia and Sunni. All the Shia mujtahids (scholar having skill of independent reasoning) in Iran and Iraq grant birth control. The Sunnis have also granted birth control. The Sahaba (companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him) used to practice azl which is the oldest method of birth control. They state that they used to visit their wives in the nights of holy Ramadhan and used to do azl. Had it been wrong, the Quran would have rejected it. The Sahaba asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the same, so he said: “Let one who does so do it, Allah shall certainly create whom he destined to be created. ” The Prophet himself did not prohibit it.

One can see that Fatawa Alamgiri and Fatawa Aziziah also mention the permissibility of birth control. Moreover, there have been international Islamic conferences on the matter in Ankara, Istanbul, Djakarta and port which have unanimously decided that birth control is granted in Islam.

Q. What type of permission?

It is optional permission. You can't impose it on anyone. However, there is a tiny difference among the Ulama about the way of permission, but all of them have granted azl. On this ground, birth control is also allowed.

Q. Those who oppose birth control state that it is like murdering children due to fear of poverty?

The Quran commands not to kill the children out of fear of poverty. Murder means killing any living being, abortion is not granted in any religion. But abortion is something and birth control is something else.

Q. . . . but it is narrated from Hadhrat Ali how the life is created, and abortion is permissible in special cases?

If the life of mom is in danger, then she can opt for abortion also, but abortion is not granted in the form of birth control. Islam does not grant killing a life, and when a foetus gets life it can be superior recommended by a physician.

Q. What methods of birth control can be adopted nowadays?

Condom or pills, which are impermanent solution, can be adopted. In Iran, the Ulama have permitted nasbandi (surgical operation) too.

Q. There is an argument against birth control, given by those who oppose it, that the Messenger (peace be upon him) asked to increase the number so that he can take pride in them on the Day of Judgement?

See, a scholar states that one can't comprehend any verse of the Quran fully until one is aware of its background. The same rule applies to tradition as well. This hadith is related to the time when the number of Muslims was very less in the Arabia. Today, this can be true in regard to Europe and America. But, here in India, whether the Muslims are killed due to birth control or due to demand of it.

Muslim is weak, dying of hunger, falling prey of diseases. Is it superior that children keep on coming and dying of hunger and disease or is it superior that children are born less.

Q. But, it is stated that Allah provides livelihood to apiece born child?

He has taken responsibility of apiece thing. He has taken the responsibility of curing a disease as well, then do not go to hospital for treatment. Livelihood does not mean that you should sit quietly, if it is so then leave the newborn alone. Livelihood

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