Addressing participation of women in maternal health care in light of its key knowledge correlates: findings from the Indian Sundarbans

Introduction According to the estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), the reproductive ill health accounts for 33% of the total disease burden in women as compared to 12.3% for men. Despite this significant figure, in many South Asian countries the magnitude of reproductive morbidity has not been adequately defined. Maternal health event provides enough time to take requisite precautions and curative measures, if planned. In this conceptual paper we highlight the need to revisit the term literacy and its impact on maternal health from the angle of knowledge-cum-practice has been highlighted. Not only the ability to read and write but the actual learning has been examined that helps a woman and her households to perceive her illness and her ability to seek health services from the existing system.