Health Problems Encountered by Mothers of Under-2 Children in the Coastal Area of Kochi, Kerala

Introduction Women's health and nutritional status is inextricably bound with social, cultural, and economic factors that influence all aspects of their lives, and it has consequences not only for the women themselves but also for the wellbeing of their children, the functioning of households and the distribution of resources (World Bank Group, 1999). Objective: The objective of the study is to find out the health status of mothers of under 2 years. . Materials and methods: A cross sectional study using a pre- tested and semi-structured interview schedule was administered among 384 mothers having children under two years in the coastal area of Kochi, Kerala. . Purposive Sampling was the technique adopted for the selection of subjects. Results: Study revealed that more than half of the sample (58.1%) was suffering from minor ailments of more than one type. Among these ailments, vomiting (24.5%) and constipation (13.3%) were found to be more frequent. The most commonly noticed chronic health problems were hypertension (3.1%) followed by migraine (2.8%). Four cases of diabetes and three cases of gestational diabetics were also noticed among the mothers. Regular Antenatal chekup was done by only 62.5 percent of mothers and immunization in pregnancy was completely covered only by 86.5 percent of the subjects. Out of the 384 mothers studied 79.9 percent did not report any complications in pregnancy.94.3 percent of mothers had normal full term (37 to 42 weeks) delivery.