Child Birth Practices and Utilization of Antenatal Care (ANC) Services Among Migrant Tribal Women in Urban Areas of Gujarat.

INTRODUCTION:  Tribal women constitute a vulnerable population and migratory tribal women living in urban areas are among the most vulnerable and neglected sections. The current study was conducted among migratory tribal women living in the urban areas of Gujarat to understand their antenatal care (ANC) and child birth practices.

METHODOLOGY:  This was a community-based mixed methods study, conducted during 2022, in four major cities of Gujarat. The sample size for the quantitative study consisted of 592 participants. Inclusion criteria for participants were tribal women migrants to urban areas; migration for employment; less than a year of residence in the urban area; married women; and working on construction-sites. The qualitative study included 20 tribal women selected from cities and a total of 24 grassroots workers and in-depth interviews were conducted.

RESULTS:  The participating women were in the age group of 16-43 years, with mean age being 26 years. Almost 67 (11%) women were pregnant at the time of the study. Around 51% of the women had FOUR antenatal care (ANC) visits during their previous pregnancy. Around 63 (18%) women had home births. Qualitative data revealed that their deep-rooted cultural practices and beliefs influenced their ANC patterns, child birth practices, and utilization of hospital services.

CONCLUSION:  Migrant tribal women are considered a vulnerable population in urban areas, as they do not have local documents. Further, they are bound by deep-rooted cultural beliefs. There is a need to use technology for developing tracking systems, in order to provide better maternity care to these women.