Migration impact on women and child health

Women's Migration, Urban Poverty and Child Health in Rajasthan

Authors: M. Unnithan-Kumar, K. McNay, A. Castaldo
Publisher: Sussex Centre for Migration Research, 2008

Migration is an increasing feature, which defines the lives of the rural and urban poor in India, however few studies have considered its effects on the health of migrants and their families.

The research presented in this paper specifically focuses on the positive and negative roles of migration for the survival prospects of children in Rajasthan.

A key point made in the paper is that many poor people are forced to move on a regular and chronic basis and that this movement has both negative and positive consequences on their health and nutritional status.

The paper examines the consequences of internal migration for women’s reproductive experiences and for their children’s health reflected in high levels of infant and child illness and death amongst poor urban slum communities in Rajasthan, a state with one of the highest infant mortality rates in India.

Migration itself has to be understood in the distinctive context of Rajasthan, a dominantly poor agrarian economy, where strict social rules define women’s marital and reproductive roles and relationships, great social pressure for producing children, and a high infant and maternal mortality rate.

In gender terms, women experience migration differently from men and almost universally at the time of their marriage. Migrant women in Rajasthan often move greater distances at marriage or shortly thereafter than non-migrant women. The economic roles of migrant women change and so does their relationship with members of their immediate and extended families. This alters the social and medical setting, in which migrant women experience birthing and motherhood.

This has further implications for the quality of life that their children will experience.

The paper argues that it is not enough that migration brings migrants to a place where there are more health services available. The question is whether their changed social and economic conditions enable them to take advantage of such services.

The paper outlines some of the following critical measures that can be taken to address the detrimental health experiences of poor migrant women and children:

•  It is urgent that primary health services are provided equally for those living in deprived urban settlements;
•  It is vital that the number and quality of provision of Anganwadi centres for pregnant women, neonates and infants includes provision of meals for young children, but also health referral services for migrant mothers’ antenatal, birthing and postpartum care;
•  It is important to develop tracking and communication strategies to ensure that migrant mothers in particular have access to emergency services; and,
•  Health workers need to target migrant families who have experienced child loss for specific attention and intervention.