ArticlePhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2020
Perinatal risk and the cultural ecology of health in Bihar, India.
Article in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Barriers in utilization and provisioning of obstetric care services (OCS) in India: a mixed-methods systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Pooled it
- Between stigma and support: a qualitative inquiry into help-seeking behaviour for postpartum depression care in Kerala, India.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Lived experiences in action: Relations between community health workers' and clients' perinatal health behaviours in India.Global public health · 2025Article
- Maternal health education and social support needs across the perinatal continuum of care: a thematic analysis of interviews with postpartum women in Punjab, India.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Community health workers' counseling is based on a deficit model of behavior change.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- From counsel to consumption: examining sociocultural influences on perinatal nutrition in rural India.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Family caregiving as a pathway to strengthen health outcomes in India.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Coexisting traditional and biomedical healthcare systems: a mixed-methods analysis of community health workers and traditional birth attendants' contributions to perinatal health behaviors in rural India.Frontiers in health services · 2025Article
- Perception and experiences of adolescent mothers and communities in caring for their preterm babies: findings from an in-depth study in rural Bangladesh.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Leverage the power of ritual to improve community health worker efficacy and public health outcomes: Lessons from Bihar, India.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2022Review
- Facilitating behavioral change: A comparative assessment of ASHA efficacy in rural Bihar.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- Tradition, taste and taboo: the gastroecology of maternal perinatal diet.BMJ nutrition, prevention & health · 2021Article
- Cultural Variation in the Development of Beliefs About Conservation.Cognitive science · 2020Article
- Ritual explained: interdisciplinary answers to Tinbergen's four questions.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
18 authors.
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Abstract
The objective of the current study is to examine the cultural ecology of health associated with mitigating perinatal risk in Bihar, India. We describe the occurrences, objectives and explanations of health-related beliefs and behaviours during pregnancy and postpartum using focus group discussions with younger and older mothers. First, we document perceived physical and supernatural threats and the constellation of traditional and biomedical practises including taboos, superstitions and rituals used to mitigate them. Second, we describe the extent to which these practises are explained as risk-preventing versus health-promoting behaviour. Third, we discuss the extent to which these practises are consistent, inconsistent or unrelated to biomedical health practises and describe the extent to which traditional and biomedical health practises compete, conflict and coexist. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of the relationships between traditional and biomedical practises in the context of the cultural ecology of health and reflect on how a comprehensive understanding of perinatal health practises can improve the efficacy of health interventions and improve outcomes. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ritual renaissance: new insights into the most human of behaviours'.
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