Department of Anthropology, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan.
Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov 28;18(23):12534. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182312534.
Although water insecurity has been discussed in general, its impacts on mothers' physical and mental health, and infants' and young children's feeding (IYCF), has largely been ignored. This study explores household water insecurity experiences and their association with optimal health and nutrition of women and children in the Rajanpur district of Punjab Province. Using focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informants (KIIs) interviews from an area with high maternal-child malnutrition prevalence, a qualitative study was conducted to describe local experiences of water acquirement and arrangement, and of the consequences of water insecurity. The findings highlight that rural Western marginalized populations of the Rajanpur district rely on brackish, canal, or flood surface water as the water supply is absent, which intensifies mothers' work burden and stress, and often makes them victims of violence, stigma, and sickness. Water fetching impacts women in unforeseen ways, impacting the psychosocial and physical health of mothers engaged in maternal breastfeeding. Water insecurity, originally rooted in regional disparities, compounds with gender inequities, which leads to maternal stress and child sickness. Justice in water resources is imperative and urgent in the deprived South of Punjab province for improving public health nutrition.
尽管已经讨论了水不安全问题,但它对母亲的身心健康以及婴儿和幼儿喂养(IYCF)的影响在很大程度上被忽视了。本研究探讨了拉詹布尔地区家庭水不安全的经验及其与妇女和儿童健康和营养的关系。该地区孕产妇和儿童营养不良的患病率很高,采用焦点小组讨论(FGD)和关键知情人访谈(KII)进行了一项定性研究,以描述当地获取和安排水的经验,以及水不安全的后果。研究结果强调,拉詹布尔地区农村西部边缘群体依赖咸水、运河或洪水地表水作为供水水源,这加剧了母亲的工作负担和压力,使她们经常成为暴力、污名和疾病的受害者。取水以意想不到的方式影响妇女,影响从事母乳喂养的母亲的社会心理和身体健康。水不安全问题最初源于地区差异,加上性别不平等,导致母亲的压力和儿童的疾病。在旁遮普省南部贫困地区,水资源公平正义对于改善公共卫生营养至关重要,且迫在眉睫。