1. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the colonial concerns with birth rates and childbirth conditions were increasing. Specifically, the colonial sympathizers were concerned with maternal and infant mortality rates (Van Hollen, 36). India, along with several other colonial areas, feared the growing trend of “depopulation,” and sought to combat it in the interest of capitalism. While colonists and nationalists argued on the causes of their substandard childbirth conditions, both groups agreed that the “professionalization of obstetrics” would solve the problem. Over time, allopathy would begin to replace indigenous medicines, as the biomedicalization of childbirth continued.
2. Dias are the lay midwives that assist with …show more content…
The primary tasks of the dai is to cut the umbilical cord and dispose of the placenta and blood, which are seen as degrading (Van Hollen, 39). Additionally, the dias usually hail from the lower castes of Hindu or Muslim communities, which carries a stigma in and of itself. In a colonial context, dias were viewed as unskilled and polluted, a fact that was not helped by the biomedicalization of childbirth and with it, the upsurge of white male doctors engaging in allopathic practices in India. The stigma and public view of dias were directly affected by the professionalization of obstetrics in colonial India.
3. The Countess of Dufferin Fund, or the National Association for Supplying Female Medical Aid to the Women of India, was established in 1885, as well as the Victoria Memorial Scholarship Fund. The funds received some support from the colonial government, but ultimately has to raise money from contributing philanthropists. The goal of the Dufferin Fund was to “bring medical knowledge and medical relief to the women of India” (Van Hollen, 42-43). There were two issues that …show more content…
The Bhore Committee Report was a four volume report, constructed by the Health Survey and Development Committee, a sector of the colonial government. The report was published in 1946, and its purpose was to analyze India’s healthcare system and making recommendations on how to overall improve health care services in India (Van Hollen, 57). According to Van Hollen, the Bhore Committee Report served as the “template for the structure of health care services in India in the postcolonial era” (Van Hollen, 58). The report recommended the establishment of the three-tiered healthcare referral system, the inclusion of hereditary dias and basic training for them, and the deployment of auxiliary health workers, or “health visitors” (Van Hollen, 58-59). Overall, the effects of the Bhore Committee Report have been positive for the establishment of better healthcare in India. However, one aspect in which the Bhore Committee Report did not excel in was the implementation of health visitors. The concept of health visitors was replaced by that of the multipurpose-health-worker (MPHW) in the mid-1970s. Both a male and a female MPHW was required in each public health center, yet the women were greatly limited in the work they were tasked with. While male MPHWs were involved in public programs such as leprosy, tuberculosis, and malaria, female MPHWs were confined to educating women, collect “census-type” data, and providing general family planning and maternal and infant health care
2. Dias are the lay midwives that assist with …show more content…
The primary tasks of the dai is to cut the umbilical cord and dispose of the placenta and blood, which are seen as degrading (Van Hollen, 39). Additionally, the dias usually hail from the lower castes of Hindu or Muslim communities, which carries a stigma in and of itself. In a colonial context, dias were viewed as unskilled and polluted, a fact that was not helped by the biomedicalization of childbirth and with it, the upsurge of white male doctors engaging in allopathic practices in India. The stigma and public view of dias were directly affected by the professionalization of obstetrics in colonial India.
3. The Countess of Dufferin Fund, or the National Association for Supplying Female Medical Aid to the Women of India, was established in 1885, as well as the Victoria Memorial Scholarship Fund. The funds received some support from the colonial government, but ultimately has to raise money from contributing philanthropists. The goal of the Dufferin Fund was to “bring medical knowledge and medical relief to the women of India” (Van Hollen, 42-43). There were two issues that …show more content…
The Bhore Committee Report was a four volume report, constructed by the Health Survey and Development Committee, a sector of the colonial government. The report was published in 1946, and its purpose was to analyze India’s healthcare system and making recommendations on how to overall improve health care services in India (Van Hollen, 57). According to Van Hollen, the Bhore Committee Report served as the “template for the structure of health care services in India in the postcolonial era” (Van Hollen, 58). The report recommended the establishment of the three-tiered healthcare referral system, the inclusion of hereditary dias and basic training for them, and the deployment of auxiliary health workers, or “health visitors” (Van Hollen, 58-59). Overall, the effects of the Bhore Committee Report have been positive for the establishment of better healthcare in India. However, one aspect in which the Bhore Committee Report did not excel in was the implementation of health visitors. The concept of health visitors was replaced by that of the multipurpose-health-worker (MPHW) in the mid-1970s. Both a male and a female MPHW was required in each public health center, yet the women were greatly limited in the work they were tasked with. While male MPHWs were involved in public programs such as leprosy, tuberculosis, and malaria, female MPHWs were confined to educating women, collect “census-type” data, and providing general family planning and maternal and infant health care