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CHAPTER-V
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH STATUS: THE CASE OF CHAMPHAI DI STRICT
5.1. Introductory Statement
In the preceding chapters the discussion concentrated on reproductive healthcare
in very broad terms using data drawn from secondary sources and at macro level,
particularly the district and block level situation with regard to availability of healthcare
facilities. However, the macro picture at the district and block level hide the situation
prevailing at ground level. It is necessary now to examine the ground reality with regard
to reproductive healthcare status using information collected from the field. This present
chapter makes an attempt to assess the reproductive health and healthcare status at the
micro level by analysing first hand information collected from selected towns and
villages from Champhai district.
Champhai district has been selected for field study due to its certain unique
characteristics. It shares its boundary with Myanmar on the east that permits a certain
amount of cross border migration from both sides reflected in its population composition
which make the study area more fascinating. The third largest among the district of
Mizoram, it has an area of 3185.83 sq.km and is divided into three blocks. The Mizos are
the dominant tribe though with variations seen in terms of minor clans who still use their
own dialect, say Paihte etc. They are found in certain pocket bordering Myanmar
including the sample village of Vapar. Champhai district supports 108392 persons with a
very high proportion (91.88 percent) being literate (94 percent male and 89.64 percent
women respectively) higher than the state average of 88.49 percent (90.69 percent male
and 86.13 percent women respectively). The district consists of four towns. The level of
urbanization is however low as around 38 percent population lives in urban areas. High
level of literacy, low urbanization level and diverse composition of population are
important dimensions which may have its effects on reproductive health.
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The chapter focuses on spatial characteristics of sample villages/towns,
availability of healthcare, factors determining mother’s health seeking behaviour, general
characteristics of fertility, ideal number of child among mothers and general
characteristic of family planning among respondents.
5.2. Sample Design
A stratified sample design was considered significant to meet the requirements of
spatial variation and socio-economic characteristics of the study areas. Both rural and
urban areas were included in the sample. All the towns and villages were stratified at
different levels. The first level of stratification was based on locational considerations.
Villages and towns were selected from different locations to represent various regions
and variations in locational attributes. The second level of stratification was based on
population size and literacy rate. Table 5.1 provides details about the population size and
literacy rates of the selected towns and villages.
Table 5.1.Sample Design for Towns and Villages Sample Towns and Villages
Population Literacy (%)
TOWNS Khawzawl 9616 98.00
Ngopa 4263 94.00 Champhai 19140 91.00
VILLAGES Samthang 1098 93.98 Tualcheng 750 70.00
Vapar 522 63.00 Source: Economics and Statistics Department. Govt. of Mizoram
As is evident from the table the sample towns are varied in terms of their
population size and literacy rates. The district headquarter of Champhai town support the
largest population of 19140 persons but surprisingly has the lowest literacy rate (91
percent). Khawzawl is a medium size town with 9616 persons and has a literacy rate as
high as 98 percent followed by the smallest town of Ngopa included for field
investigation with 4263 persons and 94 percent literacy rate. In addition three villages
such as Tualcheng, Vapar and Samthang were included in the sample located in diverse
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relief conditions (fig 5.1). Village Samthang is the largest in terms of population (1098
persons) and has the highest literacy rate (93.98 percent). Tualcheng is a medium size
village (750 persons) and has a literacy rate of 70 percent while Vapar is the smallest
among the sample villages with merely 522 persons and the literate segment is a mere 63
percent (table 5.1).
Three towns namely Champhai, Khawzawl and Ngopa were included in the
sample, located in diverse relief areas within the district (fig 5.1). A separate sample
design was adopted for the towns as far as election of households is concerned. The
reason for adopting separate sample design for urban area is that the town wards are quite
large, making it difficult to list all the households. To avoid error of omission or
duplication, two localities, having not more than 500 households were selected for field
investigation.
5.2.1. Spatial Characteristics
Table 5.2 provides a general geographical background of the sample villages and
towns. Two sample towns of Champhai and Khawzawl are located on the hill top while
Ngopa town is situated on the hill slope. On the other hand two sample villages namely
Samthang and Vapar are located on the hill slope while Tualcheng village is located on a
hill top.
Table 5.2.General Geographic Variables of Sample Towns and Villages Sample Towns
and Village TOWNS
Location Latitude and Longitude Average altitude RD Block Champhai Town Hill top 93°15 -30ʹN and 23°15ʹ -30ʹE 1650 m Khawzawl Khawzawl Town Hill top 93°0ʹ- 15ʹN and 23°30ʹ-45ʹ E 1000m Khawzawl Ngopa Town Hill slope 93°0ʹ-15ʹ N and 23°45ʹ-24°0ʹE 1200m Ngopa
VILLAGES Tualcheng Village Hill top 93°15ʹ-30ʹ N and 23°30ʹ-45ʹ E 1050m Khawzawl Vapar Village Hill slope 93°15ʹ-30ʹ N and 23°30ʹ-45ʹ E 1700m Khawzawl Samthang Village Hill slope 93°15ʹ-30ʹ N and 23°0ʹ-15ʹ E° 1700m Khawbung
Source: Altitude and Latitude/longitude from SOI toposheet No 84/E. 1st Edition in 1976
The altitudinal range of sample villages and towns is equally varied. The two
villages of Samthang and Vapar are located at the highest altitude (1700m), followed by
Champhai town(1650m), Ngopa town(1200m) and Tualcheng village(1050m) while
Khawzawl town is situated at the lowest altitude of 1000m above the mean sea level. All
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the sample villages and towns belong to the three rural development blocks; Khawzawl,
Ngopa and Khawbung (table 5.2).
5.2.2. Sample Households
The field survey in all covered six villages and towns and around 33% households
having eligible couples (mother’s age- 15-49) were included in the sample. Both
questionnaire and schedule methods were used for collecting information on household
and maternal health.
Table 5.3.Proportion of Sample Households Towns and Villages
No. of households surveyed
Total households Percentage
TOWNS Champhai 102 311 32.80 Khawzawl 93 281 33.10
Ngopa 76 230 33.04 VILLAGES
Tualcheng 45 135 33.33 Samthang 63 189 33.33
Vapar 33 99 33.33 Total 412 1245 33.09
Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006
The survey covered a total of 412 households having eligible couples from a total
of 1245 householdsi. Interviews were conducted among the mothers aged between 15-49
years (eligible couple) and who had a live birth in the last five years preceding the
survey. However, due to inconsistent responses the total samples included for antenatal
care and postnatal care are not exactly the same. Sample villages have been carefully
selected in such a way that urban and rural areas within a particular district could be
compared.
5.2.3. Availability of Healthcare Facility in Sample Villages and Towns
Disparity in the distribution of maternal healthcare facilities and providers is a
problem in the present study area. As shown by numerous studies factors such as
availability of healthcare facilities, health personnel, accessibility and available
educational institutions are important in the context of reproductive health and hence
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have been taken into consideration for the present study especially for analysing mother’s
health seeking behaviour.
Table 5.4.Availability of Healthcare Facilities in Spatial Dimension, 2006 Sample towns and villages
Sub-Centre
CHC/PHC District Hospital
Health personnel Link Road Highest Institution
TOWNS Champhai 0 km* 0 km* 0 km Doctor(11), nurse(21) Gynaecologist(1) Metalled/Bus College Khawzawl 0 km* 0 km* 152 km# Doctor(1), nurse (5), Health supervisor
(1) Metalled /Bus
College Ngopa 0 km* 0 km* 179 km# Doctor(2), nurse (6) Health supervisor(1),
RCH education officer(1) Metalled/Bus F.W**
Higher Secondary
VILLAGES Tualcheng 0 km* 16km 57 km Health worker(2) Unmetalled/Jeepable High
School Vapar Nil 34 km 34 km Nil Partially
metalled/F.W Bus Middle School
Samthang 0 km* 12km 70 km Health worker(2) Partially metalled/F.W Bus
High School
*Health facility within the village/town **FW= fair Weather road # distance between Ngopa and Aizawl, since people generally prefer to get treatment from Aizawl
Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006
Table 5.4 shows rural-urban variation in healthcare facilities. Understandably
much of the healthcare establishments are concentrated in urban areas particularly in
Champhai town while Ngopa and Khawzawl towns are facilitated by the presence of
Community Health Centre (CHC) and Primary Health Centre (PHC) respectively. These
two towns however are located far from the district hospital that too in a rugged
topography. The two sample villages of Tualcheng and Samthang are facilitated by only a
sub-centre while Vapar had none of the healthcare facilities. The district hospital in
Champhai town has only one gynaecologist. The sample villages are located far away
from the district hospital with poor accessibility in terms of road connectivity. For
example Tualcheng is located 57 km away from the district hospital at Champhai with
jeepable road connection while Samthang village is located farther at 70 km distance
from Champhai connected by partially metalled road. Vapar is located at 34km away
from the district hospital and is without any healthcare facilities. All these factors are
associated with mother’s health seeking behaviour (table 5.4).
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5.3. Sample Towns
Sample towns are Champhai Ngopa and Khawzawl located in different parts of
the district.
5.3.1. Champhai Town
Being the third largest town of Mizoram, Champhai town is one of the most
important district headquarters. It is situated at higher altitude of 1650 metres in the hill
top sprawling on the surrounding slopes lying between 93°15ʹ-30ʹ N latitudes and 23°15ʹ-
30ʹ E longitudes (fig 5.3). It falls under the jurisdiction of Khawzawl rural development
block. The town occupies strategic geographical position as far as the future prospect of
Indo-Myanmar trade relation is concerned as it located close to the dividing border river,
Tiau. Within Champhai town two localities are selected for conducting field investigation
which together account for about 1365 population (2001 census) in more than 311
households. As many as 102 (32.80percent) households having mothers aged between15-
49 were interviewed. The town has a district hospital as well as a few private clinics (fig
5.2). It has metalled road and is also the main centre for economic activities in the
district. Settlements are well spread in a large area of the town and concentrated mostly
along the roads. Sparse distribution of settlement is found near government offices and
army headquarters. Some settlement units are located in very steep slopes and cliff-like
relief. The difficult terrain permits only steps and footpaths. Generally localities in the
outskirt of the town are connected with unmetalled roads and footpath which radiates
from the main road. These localities are particularly constrained with regard to access to
the healthcare facilities, particularly when acute reproductive problems are reported (fig
5.2).
Champhai has 32 educational institutions including one College and some
private English medium schools. It also has Champhai Civil hospital with 60 beds, of
which 6 beds are maternity beds and 9 are postnatal beds. During the survey in January
2006 there were 11 doctors, 4 ward superintendents, 21 staff nurses and 1 gynaecologist
in the hospital.
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5.3.2. Khawzawl Town
This town is located in the central part of the district lying between 93°0ʹ -15ʹ N
latitudes and 23°30ʹ-45ʹ E longitudes at an average altitude of 1000metres above the
mean sea level. Even though situated in relatively low lying areas of the district,
Khawzawl is located on hilltop acting in a linear fashion as nearly all the settlement
spread along the main road of the town. Sparse distribution of settlements is found
around government offices. It consists of 2000 households supporting 9616 persons, of
whom 4661 are females and 4955 are males. Of these, two localities with 281
households were selected and 93 households (33percent) consisting of eligible couples
were surveyed. Metalled road connecting the state capital of Aizawl and district capital
Champhai passing through the central part of the town plays a significant role in
providing health facility to the people of the town. Unmetalled roads and footpaths are
very common within the town for connecting one locality and another. Settlement units
in the town are rather dispersed. Survey had been conducted during February and March
2006 with 93 sample households having mothers aged between 15-49 using structure
questionnaires. Even if Champhai district hospital is closer (42 km) to Khawzawl than
Aizawl (152 km) respondents generally preferred to go to Aizawl for check-up and
treatment mainly due to insufficient healthcare facilities at the former and also due to the
fact that transportation to Aizawl is easier than to Champhai(fig 5.4 and 5.5).
There are 20 educational institutions including one college and private schools
with an overall literacy rate of 98 percent. The lone Primary Health Centre (PHC) which
has been serving more than 10 surrounding villages is equipped with 1 doctor, 5 staff
nurses, 1 sister, pharmacist and laboratory technician besides 1 health supervisor.
5.3.3. Ngopa Town
Ngopa town is located in the northern part of the district. It is rural development
block headquarter, situated at an average altitude of 1200m and lying between 93°0ʹ-15ʹ
N latitudes and 23°45ʹ-24°0ʹE longitudes. It supports a relatively small size of
population, 4263 in all as per 2001 Census records, of whom 1996 are females and 2267
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are males distributed in 793 households. Two localities with 230 households were
selected for survey and 76 households (33percent) having eligible couples were
interviewed. The town had a large number of families, 397 in all living below the poverty
line. As many as 554 houses were electrified. There are 43 public water points, 12 drilled
water points and 197 water connections. Primary data had been collected during April
and May 2006 from 76 households having eligible couples through questionnaires.
With 94 percent literacy rate, there are 12 educational institutions, including 1
higher secondary school as the highest available educational institution in the town.
Besides, there is 1 Community Health Centre (30 beds) served by 2 doctors, nurses and
one reproductive and child health education officer and one health supervisor (fig 5.6). It
has metalled road with fair-weathered heavy vehicles mode of transportations. However,
footpath is the most common network in the town as many localities depend only on
footpath connecting the main road, which sometimes is a serious problem to avail
medical facilities during emergency. Settlements are well spread in the town (fig 5.7).
5.4. Sample Villages
Sample villages include Tualcheng, Samthang and Vapar located in diverse area
within Champhai district.
5.4.1. Tualcheng Village
Located on top of the hill in the highland of northeastern part of the district
Tualcheng village is situated at an altitude of 1050m between 93°15ʹ-30ʹ N latitudes and
23°30ʹ-45ʹE longitudes. The village has an excess of females. Out of the 750 persons
residing in the village, the female population (409) outnumbered male population (341)
and the sex ratio is1068 females per 1000 male. Out of 135 households only 100
households are electrified and there are only three public water points, which are used
and filled with water only during the monsoon seasons. Out of the total households 45
(33percent) households having eligible couples were selected. A sub-centre is the only
health facility available in this village and jeepable road is the only transport
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infrastructure availed by the inhabitants of this small village. Tualcheng village suffers
both economic and physical barriers for improving the health of its inhabitants. The
nearest Primary Health Centre (PHC), Hnahlan lies 16 km away and the nearest hospital,
Champhai is located at a distance of 57 km (fig 5.8).
The village is served by one primary school, one middle school and one high
school, but the literacy rate is extremely low at around 70 percent particularly in the
context of generally high level of literacy in the state as a whole. Majority of the
population did not complete high school and most eligible couples studied up to middle
school or high school as they could not afford higher education mainly due to poverty.
The village extends in an elongated shape with settlements spread along the road and
footpaths are fond common in the eastern part of the village (fig 5.9 and 5.10).
5.4.2. Vapar Village
Vapar is situated on the hill slope between 93°15ʹ-30ʹN latitudes and 23°30ʹ-45ʹE
longitudes. The village is located at a distance less than 20 km away from Myanmar
border. The average altitude is 1700 meters above the mean sea level in the proximity of
Tuithoh river. There are 522 persons in the village of whom 251 are females and 271 are
males distributed in 99 households. Household survey had been conducted during
January and February 2006 for 32 (33percent) eligible couples. Among the sample towns
and villages Vapar is the only village which had no health centre and most of the
vaccinations are given from community hall and sometimes in their respective houses by
health workers who come seasonally from Champhai town (fig 5.7). Respondents
generally visited Champhai for check-up and treatments, which is situated 34 kms away
as there are no other healthcare facilities except sub-centre (i.e. 14 kms away at Ngur
village).
It is interesting to find that out of 99 household 45 families are registered below
poverty line family (48 percent) with one middle school and one primary school resulting
comparatively low literacy rate of 63 percent. As majority of the population belongs to
the Paithte clan, Paihteii dialect is more common, which is different from the common
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dialect of Mizo. The main road, which is partially metalled, is passing through the eastern
fringe of the village and on the western side of this main road is where almost all
settlements are located (fig.5.12). Many footpaths radiate from the main road and
connected other settlements (fig 5.11 and 5.13).
5.4.3. Samthang Village
Samthang is situated in the southern part of the district with an average elevation
of 1700 meters and lies between 93° 15ʹ- 30ʹ N latitudes and 23° 0ʹ- 15ʹ E° longitudes. As
located in the vicinity of the historical monument site of Fiara tui (Fiara water)iii has
better road network compared with other two villages of Tualcheng and Vapar. Fair
weather bus service is available between Champhai and Samthang (70 km). It may be
noticed that out of a total population of 1098 persons, females (555) marginally
outnumbered the males (543) with a sex ratio of 1012. The village has 189 households in
all and a very large proportion of them are poor as 153 households live below the poverty
line. As many as 63 households having eligible couple were surveyed during February
and March 2006.
The village is equipped with a sub-centre, one high school and middle school with
two primary schools. The literacy rate of the village is 93.98 percent. There are three
public water points which provide sufficient supply of water throughout the year. Lying
on the hill slope at high altitudes, Samthang village gets fresh air and has moderate
climate during summer and winter (fig 5.14). The main road is partially metalled form a
loop shape from which many footpaths, unmetalled roads and steps are spread connecting
settlements. Majority of the settlements are located between the main loop-shape roads
(fig5.15).
5.5. Determinants of Mother’s Health Seeking Behaviour
Many factors determine mother’s health seeking behaviour during pregnancy,
delivery and after delivery. The following sections discuss, inter alia, some factors
controlling the attitude of mothers during reproductive periods. Factors like family size,
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educational attainment of mothers, women’s mass media exposure, fertility, family
planning and mortality are included.
5.5.1. Family Size
Family size of the sample villages and towns has been categorised into three
types- families which are small with 1-4 members, medium with 5-6 members and large
with 7 members or more.
Table 5.5.Family Size of Sample Towns and Villages (%) Size of Family Small (1-4) Medium (5-6) Large (7 +) Total
TOWNS Champhai 14.71 69.61 15.69 100 Khawzawl 8.6 54.84 36.56 100 Ngopa 7.89 63.16 28.95 100 Total 10.4 62.53 27.06 100
VILLAGES Tualcheng 8.89 60 31.11 100 Vapar 3.03 60.61 36.36 100 Samthang 11.11 58.73 30.16 100 Total 7.67 59.78 32.54 100 Overall Total 9.95 61.65 28.4 100
Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006
Table 5.5 shows that medium size family with 5-6 members each is common both
in rural and urban areas. Champhai town has the largest proportion of small families
(14.71 percent) and at the same time has relatively small proportion of large families
(15.69 percent) among the towns. Family sizes in Khawzawl town are generally large
(36.56) much like the situation prevalent in the villages. The Ngopa town shows an
intermediate position with regard to the proportion of large families. Around 29 percent
families in this town are large. It is a common knowledge that large families are an
outcome of high fertility levels while prevalence of small families is a result of lower
fertility rates and also an urbanisation index. Only Champhai town shows that small
families account for a significant 15 percent of all families. On the other hand the
remaining two sample towns contain very few small families. It is evident that the
fertility rate remains quite high resulting in the prevalence large and medium family sizes
in these towns. Ordinarily literacy is negatively correlated with family size. This is so
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because higher literacy rate and urbanisation are normally associated with falling fertility
rate. Interestingly however, literacy rate and family size in the sample villages are
correlated. For example with highest literacy rate Khawzawl town has the highest
proportion of large families. Champhai town has the lowest literacy rate but has the
lowest proportion of large families.
All the sample villages contain 30 to 36 percent households with large family
size. Only 3 to 12 percent families are small in these villages indicating continued high
fertility levels in the rural areas. Samthang village however presents itself as an exception
with prevalence of relatively high proportion of smaller families and small proportion of
large families indicating lower level of fertility in the village.
Barring the Champhai town and Samthang village, rural urban differences in
family size is only marginal. The relationship between literacy and family size in the
rural areas however appears to be strongly related. For example, with lowest literacy rate
(63 percent) Vapar supports the largest number of large families (36.36percent). Likewise
with a very level of literacy (93.98 percent) Samthang contains the least number of large
families (30.16percent) (table 5.5). Tualcheng is the second most literate (70 percent)
among the sample villages and presents an intermediary position.
The rural urban difference with regard to literacy rate and family size is clearly
brought out. It is clearly revealed that education plays a significant role in the rural areas
in bringing down fertility level and hence impacting on the family size. The towns
however show no such relationship.
5.5.2. Educational Attainment
Education is not only one of the most important socio-economic factors known to
be significant in influencing individual’s behaviour and attitudes, but is a fundamental
indicator of a country’s level of human capital development (NFHS-3). Table 5.6 shows
educational attainment level of sample towns and villages. Level of educational
attainment of all the women was questioned during field survey.
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It is clear that the level of education is fairly high among the mothers in all
the sample towns and villages. Only a little over one percent of the mothers included in
the sample were illiterate. More than 15 percent (15.78 percent) completed primary level
education, 20.63 percent completed middle school level, 25.97 percent completed high
school level education and 19.75 percent completed at least class ten levels. Only 10.44
percent mothers reported that they have completed class 12 (PU) level. Mothers who
completed graduation (B.A./B. Sc/B.Com/) and Master Degree education are a significant
7.77 percent and 1.21 percent respectively.
Table 5.6.Women’s Educational level in Sample Towns and Villages (%) Education
TO
WN
S
Champhai Khawzawl Ngopa
VIL
LA
GE
S
Tualcheng Vapar Samthang Total No School 0 1.08 0 2.22 6.06 3.17 1.46 Primary 3.92 6.45 6.58 28.89 57.58 28.57 15.78 Middle 5.88 15.05 17.11 42.22 21.21 41.27 20.63 High school 18.63 37.63 40.79 22.22 9.09 14.29 25.97 Matric 26.47 21.51 18.42 2.22 6.06 7.94 16.75 PU 23.53 9.68 11.84 2.22 0.00 3.17 10.44 B.A 18.63 7.53 6.58 0.00 0.00 1.59 7.77 M.A& above 2.94 1.08 1.32 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.21 Total 100 100 100 100.00 100.0 100.00 100.0
Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006
Even though there is generally high literacy rate in all the sample towns and
villages there are variations between towns and villages as well as among the towns and
among the villages selected particularly when level of educational attainment is
considered. Very high level of education among mothers, though few in numbers, is
confined to urban areas. Most rural mothers have had an education ranging from Primary
to high school. Mothers who received class ten and above education were common only
in the towns.
Level of educational attainment is widely varied across sample towns. Mothers
who received or completed graduation or are postgraduates are more in the most
urbanised Champhai town. Their proportion is over 21 percent in the total literate
segment (table 5.6). In the remaining two towns, the proportion of graduate and post
graduate mothers is only around 8 percent.
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Very high level of education is reported from around 1 percent mothers in
Samthang village. Not a single mother completed graduate or post graduate education in
Tualcheng and Vapar villages. Level of education is particularly low in Vapar as nearly
all the mothers included in the sample received education up to middle school with only a
few making it to the next level. In terms of levels of education attained, mothers of
Samthang village are highly educated followed by Tualcheng. The mothers in Vapar
village are least educated. This difference in the level of education among mothers is
likely to be associated with their health seeking behaviour especially when reproductive
problems arise.
5.5.3. Mass Media Exposure
It is established from various studies that utilization of reproductive healthcare
services can be influenced by women’s exposure to mass media. During the survey
respondents’ mass media exposure was measured by asking women about the frequency
(at least once a week and less than once a week) with which they read a newspaper or
magazine, watch television, or listen to radio and have heard public information
regarding availability of reproductive healthcares etc. from public information system
(microphone/herald/ messenger), which is a common practice in Mizoram. Women, who
do not read any newspaper or magazine, watch television, or listen to the radio at least
once a week, are considered to be not regularly exposed to any mass media.
Table 5.7 reveals glaring rural urban disparities as far as women’s mass media
exposure is concerned. Exposure to mass media, as expected is much higher among urban
women, though there are considerable variations across the selected towns. Women’s
mass media exposure is the highest in the most urbanised Champhai town (69.61
percent), followed by Ngopa (57.57 percent) and Khawzawl (55.91 percent). It is
significant that public information system constitutes an important instrument through
which awareness about reproductive health and other health related issues is generated
among the women in all the three towns. Television as a media is only second to public
information system. Listening to radio is not popular in the towns and is virtually absent
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in Khawzawl town but of some consequence in Ngopa. Role of newspaper and magazines
is significant as over 80 percent mothers in reproductive age do read them in Champhai.
But only a little over half of the women in reproductive age group benefit from such a
media in the remaining two towns.
Table 5.7.Women’s Mass Media Exposure in Sample Towns and Villages Sample towns and villages
Reads newspaper or magazine at least once a week
Watches TV once a week
Listen Radio at least once a week
Public information
Total average
Not Regularly exposed to any media
TOWNS Champhai 80.39 90.2 11.76 96.08 69.61 3.92 Khawzawl 55.91 65.59 9.68 92.47 55.91 7.53 Ngopa 53.95 59.21 25 92.11 57.57 7.89 Total 63.41 71.67 15.48 93.55 61.03 6.44
VILLAGES Tualcheng 17.78 4.44 13.33 88.89 31.11 11.11 Vapar 9.09 0 12.12 72.73 23.48 27.27 Samthang 25.4 31.75 4.76 96.83 39.68 4.76 Total 17.42 12.06 10.07 86.15 31.42 14.38 Grant Total 40.42 41.86 12.78 89.85 46.22 10.41
Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006
Women’s mass media exposure is rather low in all the sample villages,
particularly in Vapar. Near exclusive dependence on public information system for
information on reproductive health in rural areas is clearly brought out from the fact that
the level of exposure to other media is insignificant. The Samthang village displays a
slightly better position with regard to diversity of media exposure of women. The level of
exposure is extremely low in Vapar as the women depend exclusively on public
information system as very few read newspapers/magazines or listen to radio. Not a
single woman reported to watch television in this village. Interestingly, media exposure
and literacy as well as level of education in the villages are positively associated. For
example, the highest literate village of Samthang reported the largest number of women
exposed to mass media of any types (39.68 percent), followed by the second most literate
village of Tualcheng (31.11 percent) and Vapar (23.48 percent). Evidently, listening to
radio is the second most common form of women’s mass media exposure followed by
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reading newspapers or magazines. A large number of women in the sample villages are
still ignorant about their health needs and lack proper guidance and information.
Significantly 27.27 percent of women in Vapar village are hardly exposed to any kind of
mass media.
It is observed that public information system like microphone/loudspeakers and
messenger in the villages is very common in all the sample towns and villages, especially
when preventive medicines like polio injection, BCG etc. are available in the sub-centres.
It is revealed that exposure to newspaper/magazine and television watching is popular
only in urban areas whereas listening to radio is more popular in rural areas. In most rural
areas television and regular newspaper or magazines are not available unlike in urban
areas where majority of the households could afford television, newspaper and magazine.
5.6. Fertility
Fertility differentials due to socio-economic characteristics are link with mother’s
health and health seeking behaviour during reproductive process. Many researches reveal
that generally, fertility rate tends to be higher among rural women than among urban
women. Present section analyses the fertility rate among sample towns and villages and
the ideal number children among sample mothers. Rural-urban differences in the fertility
rate and variation between inter-towns and inter-villages are also discussed.
5.6.1. Children Ever Born to Women
The number of children a woman has ever borne is a cohort measure of fertility. It
reflects fertility in the past; it provides a somewhat different picture of fertility levels,
trends and differentials. Total fertility rates (TFR) is generally used in the national level
survey as a summary measure based on the age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs). However,
the present study did not make any age-specific assessment; rather it simply calculated
the number of children a woman has given birth during her reproductive years (15-49). In
this section fertility has been calculated by using the following formula:
Total Fertility Rate = Total number of live births for all sample mothers Total number of all sample mothers
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Table 5.8 shows distribution of ever born children in the sample towns and
villages. During field survey sample mothers were asked how many children were born to
you so far? Number of living children and number of deaths were also reported.
Table 5.8 reveals significant rural-urban variation in the number of children ever
born to sample mothers in their life time. Among the sample towns the mean number of
children ever born is lowest in the largest town of Champhai (3.04) followed by
Khawzawl (3.37) and highest in Ngopa (3.56). It is evident that the mothers in Champhai
town have lesser number of children in their life time and very few have given birth to
more than five or six children during their reproductive period. Proportion of mothers
giving birth to more than five children is quite high in Khawzawl and Ngopa towns, their
proportion being close to 9 and 15 percent respectively. The total fertility rate of sample
towns is only 1.93, lesser than the national average (2.7) and Mizoram (2.9) as a whole.
Table 5.8. Number of Children Ever Born to Sample Mothers in their life time (%) No. of children
URBAN RURAL
Champhai Khawzawl Ngopa Tualcheng Vapar Samthang 1 8.14 6.72 8.82 2.45 1.42 3.54 2 25.58 22.13 23.53 11.04 5.67 9.73 3 30.23 30.83 23.53 18.40 8.51 18.58 4 27.91 20.55 13.73 31.90 17.02 17.70 5 5.81 9.88 14.71 6.13 35.46 26.55 6 2.33 7.11 8.82 11.04 4.26 10.62 7 2.77 6.86 8.59 9.93 6.19 8 4.91 11.35 7.08 9 5.52 6.38
TNC 258 253 204 163 141 226 TW 102 93 76 45 33 63 Mean 3.04 3.37 3.56 4.53 5.26 4.46 TFR 0.4 2.72 2.68 3.62 4.27 3.59 TFR 1.93(U) 3.83(R) TFR 2.7 (India) 2.9 (Mizoram) TNC=Total Number of Children ever born; TW=Total number of women; TFR=Total Fertility Rate; U=Urban; R=Rural;
Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006
This low fertility rate in urban areas is largely contributed by extremely low
fertility rate in Champhai town with a fertility rate of merely 0.4. The fertility rate in the
remaining two towns are 2.72 (Khawzawl) and 2.68 (Ngopa) which are higher than both
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national and state average. High inter-urban variation in fertility rate makes any
generalisation rather difficult with regard to the impact of urbanisation in the state.
However fertility is generally much higher in the villages compared with the
towns. Mean number of children born to women too considerably varies among the
villages, ranging from 4.46 in Samthang to 5.26 in Vapar. More number of children is
born per women in the villages particularly in the Vapar and Tualcheng Villages where
10 to 17 per cent women reported to have given birth to 8 or more children each. The
total fertility rate in the rural area is 3.83 children, which is higher than the national (2.7)
and state average (2.9) respectively. Among the villages the total fertility rate is highest
in the smallest village of Vapar (4.27) and the lowest in Tualcheng village (3.62). The
total fertility rate in Samthang is 3.59.
Though rural-urban differences in term of fertility rates among the sample
mothers is clearly evident, inter-urban and inter-village comparison make the fertility
pattern a complex issue not rendering an easy generalisation. Generally, urban mothers
are educated and hence feel the necessity for a smaller family size whereas rural mothers
continue to have more children. This result has a link with developmental variables and
forces of modernisation like education and mass media exposure. For example the
proportion of mothers exposed to mass media is relatively higher in the urban areas than
in the rural areas. Likewise urban mothers are than their rural counterparts. Even among
the sample villages women in Vapar village are least exposed to mass media and the least
literate without any healthcare facilities and records the highest total fertility rate.
5.6.3. Ideal Number of Children
To evaluate women’s ideal number of children, question has been asked to the
respondents regarding the number of children they would like to have if they could start
over again. All the sample women are questioned ‘If you could choose exactly the
number of children to have in your whole life, how many boys and how many girls would
that be?
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Table 5.9 shows percentage distribution of women in all the sample towns and
villages with respect to their opinion on ideal number of children. In the urban areas,
large majority of the women consider four to be the ideal number.
Table 5.9.Mother's Ideal no. of Children for their life time No. of children
UR
BA
N
Champhai Khawzawl Ngopa
RU
RA
L
Tualcheng Vapar Samthang
Women Women 1 0.98 0 0 0 0 0 2 3.92 5.38 11.84 2.22 0 4.76 3 23.53 12.9 38.16 17.78 6.06 34.92 4 55.88 67.74 44.74 46.67 42.42 31.75 5 11.76 9.68 5.26 17.78 39.39 15.87 6 1.96 1.08 0 6.67 6.06 4.76 7 0 1.08 0 6.67 3.03 3.17 8 0 1.08 0 2.22 3.03 1.59 9 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 1.96 1.08 0 0 0 3.17 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 No. of women
102 93 76 45 33 63
Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006
The percentage of women in favour of four children as the ideal number ranged
from 44.74 percent in Ngopa to 67.74 percent in Khawzawl. A significant proportion of
12 to 38 percent mothers considered three to be the ideal number in all the sample towns.
A negligible proportion considered two or less as an ideal number of children. Strangely,
some mothers of Champhai and Khawzawl towns, though very few, considered 10 would
be their ideal number of children (table 5.9).
Interestingly, many urban women want to have one boy and one girl with the
preference of girl child especially for those who wish to have only one or two children.
The ideal number of children among sample mothers in the villages studied varies
immensely. For example, around 47 percent of mothers in Tualcheng considered 4
children as their ideal number while less than 40 percent mothers in Vapar considered 5
children as their ideal number. However, the largest proportion of Samthang mothers
considered 3 as their ideal number of children. Significantly no mother in the villages
considered a single child as an ideal situation. Moreover relatively larger proportion of
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rural mothers wanted more than 8 children as the ideal. In Vapar village, the minimum
number of children considered ideal was three.
Evidently, the mothers in Mizoram desire more children, often four, to be the
ideal number and the rural urban variation is only marginal and a matter of degree.
However, inter village comparison does reveal the impact of education of ideal number of
children as evident from the situation in Vapar village where a great proportion of the
mothers desired over 4 children as the ideal number. More literate village of Samthang
reveals a contrasting picture.
5.6.4. Mean Ideal Number of Children
For better understanding of the above discussion the mean ideal number of
children is shown in the table. Last column of the table shows that 3.39 is the ideal
number of children in the study area as a whole which is significantly higher than the
national average of 2.4.The mean ideal number of boy child (2.06) and girl child (1.87)
in the study areas is also higher than national average of 1.1 and 0.8 respectively. This
reveals a marginal preference for boy child in Mizo society.
Table 5.10.Mother’s Mean Ideal Number of Children for their life time Sample towns and villages Mean ideal no. of children
URBAN Champhai 3.89 Khawzawl 3.97 Ngopa 3.41
RURAL Tualcheng 4.11 Vapar 4.48 Samthang 4.18 Total 3.93 Total (India) 2.4
Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006
The mean ideal number of children in the urban areas is about 3 as it ranges from
3.41 in Ngopa town to 3.97 in Khawzawl town (table 5.10).
The mean ideal number of children in the rural areas is more than the urban areas.
Generally, rural women wish to have about 4 children in their life time. The mean ideal
number of children among Vapar women is highest with 4.48 children while the least
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mean ideal number of children among mothers of sample villages is in Tualcheng with
4.11. The mean ideal number of mothers of Samthang is 4.18. However, another
interesting finding is that those mothers who want to have one or two children prefer girl
child.
5.7. Family Planning
The provision of family planning and its component information is fundamental
especially for the ability of women to make informed choices about reproductive health
decisions. For the present study, information were collected from all the sample mothers
about their knowledge of modern family planning methods and if they practiced any.
Question was asked on the knowledge and practice of modern contraceptive methods like
female and male sterilization, the pill, the IUD, the condom, the emergency contraception
and the injectables. Table 5.11 shows the knowledge and practice of contraception among
the sample mothers by their residence.
Table 5.11.Knowledge and Practice of Family Planning Methods among Sample Mothers (%) Sample towns and villages
Knowledge of any modern FP methods
Practice any modern FP methods
Not practice so far
URBAN Champhai 100 94.12 5.88 Khawzawl 98.92 83.87 16.13 Ngopa 100 85.53 14.47 Urban average 99.64 87.84 12.16
RURAL Tualcheng 91.11 73.33 26.67 Vapar 57.58 57.58 42.42 Samthang 96.83 53.97 46.03 Rural average 81.84 61.62 38.37 Total Average 90.72 74.73 25.26 India 99.2 55.8 36.0 Mizoram 98.0 64.0 35.7 FP=Family Planning
Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006
Table 5.11 reveals that knowledge of contraceptive methods is nearly universal in
all the sample towns and villages. Knowledge of contraceptive methods is practically
universal in the two towns of Champhai and Ngopa while it is satisfactorily high in
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Khawzawl with 98.92 percent. In the urban areas over 99 percent women are aware of
any modern contraceptive methods while almost 88 percent (87.84 percent) practice at
least any modern methods. A remarkably high 94.12 percent mothers in Champhai, the
largest town, practice any modern family planning methods and the remaining two towns
of Khawzawl and Ngopa also record a high proportion of over 83 and 85 percent
respectively. It is noticed that knowledge and practice of family planning methods in the
urban areas is positively correlated. Unfortunately, about 12 percent of the urban women
are not yet practice any modern contraceptive methods.
The knowledge of any modern contraceptive methods in the rural areas is also
significantly high with an average of 81.84 percent mothers being aware. Awareness of
modern family planning methods among the sample villages is the highest in the largest
and more literate village of Samthang with 96.83 percent mothers reporting awareness
about it, followed by Tualcheng with 91.11percent. However, the same is relatively low
in the smallest and least literate village of Vapar where only 57.58 percent mothers
reported some awareness about modern contraceptive methods. Though the level of
awareness is relatively high, practice of any modern family planning methods in the rural
areas is much lower than the urban areas. Around 61 percent rural mothers practiced any
modern contraceptive methods. Strangely, in the largest sample village of Samthang with
highest level of awareness, the practice of family planning methods is the least.
Tualcheng stood first in terms of the practice of family planning methods followed by the
smallest sample village of Vapar with about 73 percent and 57 percent sample mothers
who practiced some kind of modern contraceptive method respectively. This clearly
reveals that awareness about contraception does not necessarily translate into practice in
the rural areas unlike the urban areas in Mizoram. Understandably, a high proportion of
rural mothers (38.37 percent) are still abstaining from the use of any modern
contraceptive methods.
It is evident that the high performance in the knowledge of modern family
planning methods in this study area (90.72percent) is still lower than the proportion of
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national average (99.2 percent) as well as the Mizoram state average (98.0 percent).
Interestingly, however, when it comes to utilization of contraceptive methods the
performance in the study area (74.73 percent) is higher than both national (55.8 percent)
and state average (64.0 percent).
Analysis reveals that the knowledge of modern family planning methods in the
study areas is satisfactory. However, rural-urban differences are appearing in both the
knowledge and practice of family planning methods.
5.8. Mortality
Present section provides information on the level and differentials in neonatal,
perinatal and infant mortality. These mortality rates are relevant to a demographic
assessment of the population and are an important measure of the level of socio-
economic development and quality of life. They can also be used for monitoring and
evaluating population and health programme (NFHS-3). During Field survey question
had been asked to all the respondents about the complete history of their births including
for each live birth, the sex, month and years of birth, survival status, number of still
births, number of deaths and age at death. This information was utilized to calculate
mortality rates such as perinatal mortality, neonatal mortality and infant mortality.
All these mortality rates are extremely sensitive indicators of health status not
only mother but also the general population as a whole. Generally, mortality rates are
calculated for a particular period of time at the national and international level. However,
because of small sample size of the present study and to understand the past experiences
of sample mothers, all these sensitive demographic indicators are estimated from the
experiences of sample mothers in their life time.
5.8.1. Perinatal Mortality
Perinatal mortality is calculated as number of deaths (including still birth & very
early infant deaths at age 0-6 days) experienced by sample mothers in their life time. For
the present study perinatal mortality is estimated as number of early death (including still
154
birth & very early infant deaths at age 0-6 days) per pregnancies experienced by sample
mothers during their life time as expressed in the following formulae.
Perinatal mortality =
No. of pregnant mothers experienced still births + early infant death within one week x1000 Number of sample mothers.
Neonatal mortality is estimated as follows:
Neonatal mortality=
No. of infant death between one week and first month of life x1000 No. of live births
Infant mortality is estimated as follows:
Infant mortality= No. of infant death before the first birthday x1000 No. of live births
Table 5.12 shows the three mortality indicators in all the sample towns and
villages and their variation. For the present study areas as a whole, perinatal mortally is
estimated to be 43.69 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies, which is slightly lower than national
average of 48.5 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies and significantly higher than the Mizoram
state average of 26.6 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies. However, it is important to know that
estimation at the national and state level is based on the period of 2001-2005 while the
present study includes all the life time experiences of mothers in the sample areas.
Among sample towns perinatal mortality rate is the highest in the largest town of
Champhai with 58.82 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies. The proportion of perinatal mortality
is the lowest in Khawzawl (21.51deaths/1,000 pregnancies). Ngopa (26.32deaths/1,000
pregnancies) is in the intermediate position. Perinatal mortality in the urban areas is
nearly 37 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies.
The rural-urban variation in perinatal mortality rates is highly significant. Very
high rate of perinatal mortality is a serious problem among the rural mothers. The
average of perinatal mortality rate in rural areas is as high as 56.74 compared to urban
areas with 36.90 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies. Perinatal mortality rate is exceedingly
high the smallest village of Vapar, where there is no single healthcare facilities with
90.91deaths per 1,000 pregnancies. The case in the remaining two villages of Samthang
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and Tualcheng is also considerably high with 47.62 and 44.44 prinatal deaths per 1,000
pregnancies respectively. All the three sample villages reported extremely high perinatal
rates compared to the national and state average.
Table 5.12.Mortality Rate by Sample Towns and Villages Sample Villages
No. of Perinatal mortality+
% No of Neonatal mortality++
% No. of Infant mortality!
% TNC
URBAN Champhai 6 58.82 2 7.75 11 42.64 258 Khawzawl 2 21.51 0 0.00 9 35.57 253 Ngopa 2 26.32 2 9.80 7 34.31 204 Total(Urban) 10 36.90 4 5.59 27 37.76 715
RURAL Tualcheng 2 44.44 2 12.27 5 30.67 163 Vapar 3 90.91 2 14.18 7 49.65 141 Samthang 3 47.62 3 13.27 8 35.40 226 Total(Rural) 8 56.74 7 13.21 20 37.74 530 Grant total 18 43.69 11 8.84 47 37.75 1245 TNP 412 India* 48.5 39.0 57.0 Mizoram* 26.6 16.3 34.1 ! No. of sample mother who had infant death before the first birthday during their life time; +Sample mother who experienced still birth & very early infant deaths at age 0-6 days in their life time; ++ The probability of dying in the first month of life. TNC= Total Number of Children ever born; TPN=Total Number of Pregnancy;*Based on the child mortality rates for the five year period preceding the survey
Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006
5.8.2. Neonatal Mortality
The report of neonatal mortality in the study areas (8.84 deaths per 1,000 live
births) is generally low and much lower than the national average (39.0 deaths per 1,000
live births) as well as the state average (16.3 deaths per 1,000 live births) (table 5.13).
Neonatal mortality in rural areas is quite high when compared with the urban areas.
Average neonatal mortality rate is 5.59 per 1,000 live births in urban areas but as high as
13.21 per 1,000 live births in rural areas. Among the sample towns, neonatal mortality
rate is the highest in Ngopa town (9.80), followed by Champhai town (7.75). There are
no reported cases of neonatal deaths in Khawzawl town.
The inter village variation in neonatal deaths is marginal. The rate however is the
highest in the smallest village of Vapar bereft of healthcare facilities coupled with low
156
level of awareness about maternity care. On an average 14.18 children per thousand live
births in the village died before completing one month. The rate is 13.27 deaths per 1,000
live births in Samthang village while Tualcheng village reported 12.27 neonatal deaths
per 1,000 live births.
5.8.3. Infant Mortality
Unlike the other two indicators of perinatal and neonatal mortality, prevalence of
infant mortality rate is nearly uniform in rural and urban areas going by the average rate.
Infant mortality rate is a little over 37 per 1,000 live births in both rural an urban areas
(table 5.12). Significantly, this average value conceals glaring inter-town variation in the
occurrence of infant mortality. Exceedingly high infant mortality rate is reported in the
largest town of Champhai (42.6 per 1,000) compared to the remaining two towns of
Khawzawl and Ngopa with 35.57 and 34.31 respectively (table 5.13).
Likewise there is great inter village variation in the rates of infant mortality.
Exceptionally high infant mortality rate is reported from Vapar, the village with lowest
level of literacy with 49.65 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The rates in the remaining
two villages are also significantly high with 30.67 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in
Tualcheng and 35.40 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in Samthang village. As a whole,
infant mortality in the study areas is lower than the national average (57) but higher than
the state average (34.1).
5.9. Concluding Statement The major findings of the analysis made in this chapter are as follows:
Disparity in the distribution of maternal healthcare facilities and providers is a
problem in the present study area. Understandably, urbanization has been a positive
factor in enhancing better maternal healthcare both in terms of provision and utilization.
Literacy rates are better in urban areas and this has possibly made a difference. However
there is distinguishable variation within urban areas depending upon the size and
maternity care facilities. For example, Champhai the largest town is comparatively better
157
equipped in healthcare facilities and hence performs much better compared to other
smaller order towns. In the rural areas, level of education and accessibility to maternal
healthcare too emerge as important determinants as far as maternal healthcare is
concerned.
Medium size family is the most common in sample areas, followed by large and
small size family. Urbanization is generally associated with smaller families, though not
necessarily so. Small towns do not exhibit a tendency towards smaller family size. Large
households are more common in the villages. The rural urban difference with regard to
maternal literacy rate and family size is clearly brought out. Education seems to play
significant role in the rural areas in bringing down fertility level and hence impacting on
the family size.
Literacy rate among sample mothers are generally high in the towns and villages.
However, there are significant variations between rural and urban areas as well as across
the towns and villages particularly when level of maternal educational attainment is
considered. Very high level of education among mothers, though few in number, is
confined to urban areas. Most rural mothers have had an education ranging from Primary
to high school. Mothers who received class ten and above education were common only
in the towns. The study reveals a positive association between mother’s health seeking
behaviour and level of their educational attainment.
It is interesting to note that the most important source of women’s mass media
exposure about maternal healthcare in sample towns and villages is public announcement
through loudspeaker. Exposure to newspaper/magazine and television watching is
popular only in urban areas whereas listening to radio is more popular in rural areas. In
most rural areas television and regular newspaper or magazines are not available unlike
in urban areas where majority of the households could afford television, newspaper and
magazine.
Rural-urban variation in fertility rates among the sample mothers is clearly
brought out. Important factors like education and mother’s mass media exposure have an
158
impact on mother’s health seeking attitude. For example, urban mothers are more
educated and desire to have lesser number of children. On the other hand rural mothers
still preserve the traditional practice of having more children. This result seems to have a
link with developmental variables and forces of modernisation like education and mass
media exposure. For example the proportion of mothers exposed to mass media is
relatively higher in the urban areas than in the rural areas; likewise urban mothers are
more literate than rural areas. Even among the sample villages Vapar is the least exposed
to mass media and the least literate without any healthcare facilities. In relation this, the
total fertility rate is the highest in the smallest village of Vapar among the villages.
Mothers in the study areas desire to have more children and majority of them
reported that four to be their ideal number of children. The rural urban variation is only
marginal in this regard. However, inter-village comparison does reveal the impact of
education on ideal number of children as wherever literacy rates are low, ideal numbers
of children are higher especially in the villages. The mean ideal number of children in the
rural areas (4 children) is more than the urban areas (3 children). Another interesting
finding is that those mothers who want to have one or two children prefer girl child.
The analysis reveals that the knowledge of modern family planning methods is
generally satisfactory. However, there is a contrast with regard to the level of awareness
and utilisation of modern family planning in the study area. While the level of awareness
is lower than the national average, the utilisation level is much higher than the national
average.
Perinatal mortality is relatively high in both rural and urban areas but slightly
lower than the national average. Rural-urban variation in the rate of perinatal mortality is
also glaring. On an average, the extent of perinatal mortality is lower in the urban areas,
but this cannot be taken as a generalisation due to extreme inter-urban and inter-village
variation in perinatal mortality.
Evidently, neonatal mortality in the study area is generally low and much lower
than the national average though there are significant inter-urban as well as inter-village
159
variations. However, rural-urban variation in neonatal mortality in the study area is
marginal. The extent of neonatal mortality appears to be independent of either literacy or
urbanization.
Finally, Infant mortality is almost uniform in both urban and rural areas
concealing wide inter-urban variation. As a whole, infant mortality in the study areas is
lower than the national average but higher than the state average. The significance of
urbanization and education in influencing infant mortality rate is not much evident in the
study area.
Notes
i One eligible woman each (aged between15-49) was interviewed from surveyed household even if there are more than one eligible couple. Thus, number of households surveyed and number of eligible mothers interviewed are identical. ii Generally, in Mizoram people speak Mizo and they love Mizo dialect and that is one reason why Mizo communities are said to be much unified and people who speak different dialects are usually migrants from Manipur and other neighbouring states and lately some from Myanmar too. These people who used their own dialects are comparatively backward and slightly differ from those who speak Mizo in their ways of life even though they belong to Mizo community iii In Mizo history Fiara ( name of a person) had a hidden well out of the stream and said to be the clearest and tastiest water in Mizoram)
Fig
. 5.3
. Sat
ellit
e Im
ager
y of
Cha
mph
ai T
own
Fig. 5.1. Location of Sample Towns and Villages
Fig. 5.2.An overview of Champhai Town based on -2001 Census
Fig.5.4 An overview of Khawzawl Town
Fig
. 5.5
. Sat
ellit
e Im
ager
y of
Kha
wza
wl T
own
Fig. 5.6. An over view of Ngopa Town
Fig
ure
5.7.
Sat
ellit
e Im
ager
y of
Ngo
pa T
own
Fig. 5.8. An over view of Tualcheng Village
Fig
.5.9
Sat
ellit
e Im
ager
y of
Tua
lche
ng V
illag
e
Fig
. 5.1
0.Sa
telli
te I
mag
ery
show
ing
Tua
lche
ng R
oad
Fig.5.11. An Over view of Vapar Village
Fig
. 5.1
2. S
atel
lite
Imag
ery
of V
apar
Vill
age
Fig
. 5.1
3 Sa
telli
te I
mag
ery
show
ing
Vap
ar R
oad
Fig. 5.14. An over view of Samthang Village
Fig
.5.1
5. S
atel
lite
Imag
ery
of S
amth
ang
Vill
age
Fig
. 5.1
6. S
atel
lite
Imag
ery
show
ing
Sam
than
g R
oad