Maternal and child health status and patterns of health care in urban slums of Delhi: Part II.

Of the 1085 currently married women under scrutiny in 4 slums of Delhi 121 (11%) were pregnant at the time of the survey and less than 1/4 of them were registered for antenatal care. 16% of these women received iron and folic acid tablets and 12% were protected against tetanus. Of the 221 deliveries in the previous year 72% were conducted at home with only 24% being done by qualified and trained attendants. Physical examination of these pregnant and lactating women revealed that 20% were suffering from severe anemia and an equal number with vitamin B complex deficiency. Of the 1451 children under age 6 protection with all 3 components of vaccine was found in 28% for polio 19% for DPT 62% for BCG and 6% for measles. About 2.5% of the children suffered from severe malnutrition. (authors modified) (summary in SAN)