Socio-Cultural Determinants of Reproductive Health Behavior of Nomads' Women in District Bhakkar

Abstract

"Nomad" is originated from the Geek word "Nomos," which meaning "pasture." A nomad is a representative of a certain community who does not have a fixed abode, is always on the move, and lives in several areas. In this advanced age, the nomadic population's primary concern is reproductive health. The objectives of this research are to study socio economic characteristics of nomads, and main objective is to explain the reproductive behaviors of nomadic communities. Cross-sectional survey was conducted-a quantitative approach was used. A sample of I70 respondents were collected through purposive sampling technique from district Bhakkar. Data was collected by the well-designed interview schedule. Findings indicate that most of the respondents 54.7% were male, large number of the respondents 88.0% were illiterate, and a huge number of respondents’ monthly income was under 10000-15000. Majority of the nomad’s family size was more than 12 members, and most of them were living in joint family system. Most of the nomads claimed that son preference is very common in their groups and trends of early marriages are the part of their distinctive culture. A massive portion of the nomads were agreed that socio-cultural factors are affecting their reproductive behavior. Their females were facing unplanned pregnancy due to customary attitudes. The research results were very amazing that nomads are strictly adhere to their culture and customs regarding their reproductive behavior which is being highly affected by these socio-cultural beliefs. It has been known that nomadic groups are an outlier in society. The majority of nomads in the district of Bhakkar live in deplorable conditions. They don't have access to health care, sanitation, or other basic requirements of existence. Their reproductive behavior is influenced by their nomadic lifestyle. The nomadic respondents has no concept of family planning and no intension to avert births to keep the family small, rather they believe that birth is ALLAH blessings and any intervention to control or avert the birth is against their social cultural norms and traditions The conventional and customary attitude of nomads regarding their reproductive activity should be changed through providing information about the ill effects of large family size, unplanned pregnancy and the benefits of the small family norms. Government should pay special attention to these remote settlements in Bhakkar so that they can live happier lives with their families.

Keywords: Nomads, reproductive behavior, sociocultural factors.