From the time improving maternal health and bringing down the maternal mortality rate (MMR) featured as one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the country, several development initiatives have tried to address these. Whereas there are several causes, such as poor nutrition, poverty, socio-economic conditions, and inadequate healthcare facilities, for the rising MMR, the state bodies of Madhya Pradesh have explicitly focused on institutional delivery. The state, with its history of a high MMR and a low rate of institutional delivery, is witnessing a surge in schemes and policies to balance the figures. In 2005, the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) scheme was launched under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to shift childbirth from homes to institutions, usually to the sub-healthcare centre or the primary health centre. This shift is significant in the ‘changing healthcare system’ in many rural villages of India.
This paper analyses the gendered discourses of development in a rural village in India and attempts to understand the question of women’s health. Maternal health has become a priority public health issue in recent years, although little light has been thrown on women’s health perspectives and priorities when mapping their unmet needs. In this study, I try to bring together my experiential account of engaging in ‘development practice’ in a village where I gained access through a small ethnographic study to some of the women’s perceptions about their reproductive health and the value they attach to it. In a context painted by developmental activities, including the medicalisation of women's health, the paper studies its impact on women’s traditional healthcare practices. As a reflection on the maternal health of tribal women, it highlights the relevance of an anthropological understanding of the multiple social and cultural realities lived and experienced by rural communities.
