Page 1
13.1 IntroductIon We have discussed health in previous chapters. By now you
must have realised that health does not only mean freedom
from diseases. It is much more. Health is the state of physical,
mental and social well-being. It should be viewed in a holistic
way. An individual may be physically and mentally healthy,
but if her/his social condition is problematic, she/he cannot
achieve holistic health. In the present chapter, we shall focus
on various aspects of social health.
13.2 What Is s ocIal h ealth ?
Let us first understand the meaning of social health. We know
that social health is one of the three major components of
health, the other two being physical and mental. Social health
can be defined in two ways. In one sense, it refers to the
health of a person with reference to her/his ability to interact
with others. It also refers to the health of a society in general.
It focuses on how the members of a society treat each other
and behave with each other. What kind of social environment
prevails and how the prevailing customs and traditions guide
the behaviour of individuals towards self, each other and
towards the society as a whole also form social health. Social
Health also includes how individual’s natural environment
around them is. The role of the community as a whole acquires
great importance for enhancing and maintaining the quality of
the health of individuals. Although there are many dimensions
of social health, we shall discuss below the impact of social
customs on our health, the need to protect natural resources
and the empowerment of community for healthy living.
13.3 Impact of s ocIal c ustoms
Customs and traditions prevalent in a society influence all
aspects of the lives of individuals, including their health and
welfare. What people eat, how they eat, how they live and care
for their own health as well as the health of their near and dear
ones are influenced by the prevailing customs and traditions.
Let us first understand the meaning of the term custom.
13.3.1 What is a Custom?
Customs generally refer to beliefs, habits or actions performed
in the past and transmitted through time from one generation
Social Health
13
a ctIvIty 13.1
Make a list of
customs having a
positive and negative
impact on the health
of individual and
society prevailing in
your neighbourhood.
Share with your
classmates their
implications on
health?
Page 2
13.1 IntroductIon We have discussed health in previous chapters. By now you
must have realised that health does not only mean freedom
from diseases. It is much more. Health is the state of physical,
mental and social well-being. It should be viewed in a holistic
way. An individual may be physically and mentally healthy,
but if her/his social condition is problematic, she/he cannot
achieve holistic health. In the present chapter, we shall focus
on various aspects of social health.
13.2 What Is s ocIal h ealth ?
Let us first understand the meaning of social health. We know
that social health is one of the three major components of
health, the other two being physical and mental. Social health
can be defined in two ways. In one sense, it refers to the
health of a person with reference to her/his ability to interact
with others. It also refers to the health of a society in general.
It focuses on how the members of a society treat each other
and behave with each other. What kind of social environment
prevails and how the prevailing customs and traditions guide
the behaviour of individuals towards self, each other and
towards the society as a whole also form social health. Social
Health also includes how individual’s natural environment
around them is. The role of the community as a whole acquires
great importance for enhancing and maintaining the quality of
the health of individuals. Although there are many dimensions
of social health, we shall discuss below the impact of social
customs on our health, the need to protect natural resources
and the empowerment of community for healthy living.
13.3 Impact of s ocIal c ustoms
Customs and traditions prevalent in a society influence all
aspects of the lives of individuals, including their health and
welfare. What people eat, how they eat, how they live and care
for their own health as well as the health of their near and dear
ones are influenced by the prevailing customs and traditions.
Let us first understand the meaning of the term custom.
13.3.1 What is a Custom?
Customs generally refer to beliefs, habits or actions performed
in the past and transmitted through time from one generation
Social Health
13
a ctIvIty 13.1
Make a list of
customs having a
positive and negative
impact on the health
of individual and
society prevailing in
your neighbourhood.
Share with your
classmates their
implications on
health?
Health and Physical Education — Class IX
to the next. These are derived from social norms which are
rules or standards that guide, control or regulate proper and
acceptable behaviour of a group. These norms define the shared
expectations of a group and enable people to anticipate how
others will interpret and respond to their words and actions
if there is a deviation from these norms. For example, there
are customs and traditions related to marriage ceremonies.
These are observed by not only those who are getting married
but also by the other members of the family and community.
Many of the customs have positive impact on the relationships
in a family and community. However, many of the customs
have negative impact as well. For example, there are customs
prevalent in many communities, like early marriage or
discriminating against female child, or choice of spouse, which
adversely affect the health and well-being not only of the female
child but of the society as a whole.
13.3.2 Customs and Health
In every society, the individuals,
families and communities observe
many customs that have direct
bearing on health. From the
moment of birth of a child, customs
begin to shape experiences and
behaviour of the child. In reality,
by the time children can think
independently, the health-related
customs of the family have already
become an intimate part of their
personalities. They do not question
these customs, as they are deeply
held and protected by the society.
It becomes extremely difficult to
change them. Let us understand
this by considering what happened
to Seema.
The experiences of Seema
shows the negative impact of social
customs on health.
Let us consider the influence
of customs on the thinking and
behaviour of individuals in respect
of early marriage, breastfeeding
practices, family size, preference for
male child and substance abuse. All
these affect family and community
health.
a ctIvIty 13.2
Seema studies in Class IX in a small town. She
has two elder brothers. Both the brothers get a
lot of attention from the parents. Parents believe
that both their sons should get larger portion
of milk, cheese and eggs. They tell Seema that
her brothers need to be strong as they will grow
up to head their families in future. On the
other hand, parents tell Seema that she should
eat less, otherwise she will look too grown up
and big for her age. One day, while in class,
Seema told her teacher that she was feeling
dizzy. Before the teacher could do anything,
she fainted. The teacher took her to a nearby
hospital and then went home with her. The
teacher told Seema’s parents that the doctor
had said that it was because of anaemia that
she had fainted and that it was very important
to ensure that Seema gets good nutrition to
remain healthy.
Think
1. Do you think the reasons given by
Seema’s parents for ensuring that their
sons get good nutrition while neglecting
Seema’s nutritional needs are justified?
Give reasons.
2. What are the customs related to diet for
girls in your family and community?
Page 3
13.1 IntroductIon We have discussed health in previous chapters. By now you
must have realised that health does not only mean freedom
from diseases. It is much more. Health is the state of physical,
mental and social well-being. It should be viewed in a holistic
way. An individual may be physically and mentally healthy,
but if her/his social condition is problematic, she/he cannot
achieve holistic health. In the present chapter, we shall focus
on various aspects of social health.
13.2 What Is s ocIal h ealth ?
Let us first understand the meaning of social health. We know
that social health is one of the three major components of
health, the other two being physical and mental. Social health
can be defined in two ways. In one sense, it refers to the
health of a person with reference to her/his ability to interact
with others. It also refers to the health of a society in general.
It focuses on how the members of a society treat each other
and behave with each other. What kind of social environment
prevails and how the prevailing customs and traditions guide
the behaviour of individuals towards self, each other and
towards the society as a whole also form social health. Social
Health also includes how individual’s natural environment
around them is. The role of the community as a whole acquires
great importance for enhancing and maintaining the quality of
the health of individuals. Although there are many dimensions
of social health, we shall discuss below the impact of social
customs on our health, the need to protect natural resources
and the empowerment of community for healthy living.
13.3 Impact of s ocIal c ustoms
Customs and traditions prevalent in a society influence all
aspects of the lives of individuals, including their health and
welfare. What people eat, how they eat, how they live and care
for their own health as well as the health of their near and dear
ones are influenced by the prevailing customs and traditions.
Let us first understand the meaning of the term custom.
13.3.1 What is a Custom?
Customs generally refer to beliefs, habits or actions performed
in the past and transmitted through time from one generation
Social Health
13
a ctIvIty 13.1
Make a list of
customs having a
positive and negative
impact on the health
of individual and
society prevailing in
your neighbourhood.
Share with your
classmates their
implications on
health?
Health and Physical Education — Class IX
to the next. These are derived from social norms which are
rules or standards that guide, control or regulate proper and
acceptable behaviour of a group. These norms define the shared
expectations of a group and enable people to anticipate how
others will interpret and respond to their words and actions
if there is a deviation from these norms. For example, there
are customs and traditions related to marriage ceremonies.
These are observed by not only those who are getting married
but also by the other members of the family and community.
Many of the customs have positive impact on the relationships
in a family and community. However, many of the customs
have negative impact as well. For example, there are customs
prevalent in many communities, like early marriage or
discriminating against female child, or choice of spouse, which
adversely affect the health and well-being not only of the female
child but of the society as a whole.
13.3.2 Customs and Health
In every society, the individuals,
families and communities observe
many customs that have direct
bearing on health. From the
moment of birth of a child, customs
begin to shape experiences and
behaviour of the child. In reality,
by the time children can think
independently, the health-related
customs of the family have already
become an intimate part of their
personalities. They do not question
these customs, as they are deeply
held and protected by the society.
It becomes extremely difficult to
change them. Let us understand
this by considering what happened
to Seema.
The experiences of Seema
shows the negative impact of social
customs on health.
Let us consider the influence
of customs on the thinking and
behaviour of individuals in respect
of early marriage, breastfeeding
practices, family size, preference for
male child and substance abuse. All
these affect family and community
health.
a ctIvIty 13.2
Seema studies in Class IX in a small town. She
has two elder brothers. Both the brothers get a
lot of attention from the parents. Parents believe
that both their sons should get larger portion
of milk, cheese and eggs. They tell Seema that
her brothers need to be strong as they will grow
up to head their families in future. On the
other hand, parents tell Seema that she should
eat less, otherwise she will look too grown up
and big for her age. One day, while in class,
Seema told her teacher that she was feeling
dizzy. Before the teacher could do anything,
she fainted. The teacher took her to a nearby
hospital and then went home with her. The
teacher told Seema’s parents that the doctor
had said that it was because of anaemia that
she had fainted and that it was very important
to ensure that Seema gets good nutrition to
remain healthy.
Think
1. Do you think the reasons given by
Seema’s parents for ensuring that their
sons get good nutrition while neglecting
Seema’s nutritional needs are justified?
Give reasons.
2. What are the customs related to diet for
girls in your family and community?
Social Health
Early Marriage
Although efforts have been made since long to ensure that
marriages take place at proper age, the problem of early
marriage and even child marriage is still continuing in many
communities in India. The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1978
stipulates legal age of marriage as 18 for girls and 21 for boys,
but social customs encourage early marriage even now. You may
have heard the word kanyadan. Influenced by
prevailing customs, many parents consider
it good to marry their daughters even before
she attains puberty. The tradition of dowry is
another factor for early marriage in India. It is
believed that dowry will be lower if the bride is
younger in age.
The early marriage custom puts pressure
on young married women to prove their
fertility resulting in high rates of adolescent
pregnancy. Adolescent pregnancy leads to
greater health risks for the teenage mother
and her child. Biologically, she is yet to attain
reproductive maturity. There are chances of
prolonged labour that can result in severe
damage to the reproductive tract. The available
evidence suggests that maternal deaths
are considerably higher among adolescent
mothers than among mature mothers. The
babies born to adolescent mothers generally
have low birth-weight. Such babies are more
likely to die at birth or in infancy. Early
pregnancy increases the risk of maternal
and child morbidity and mortality. Early
pregnancy also has serious psychological,
social and economic consequences.
It continues to affect adversely the
educational, economic and social
status of women and is likely to
have negative impact on the quality
of life of the family.
In many cases, young girls are
married to older men. Such girls
do not have the courage to take
decisions related to family needs,
lack power and are more likely
to experience partner violence.
National Family Health Survey
(NFHS-3, 2005, 2006) reveals that
27 per cent young women and
Fig. 13.1 : Child Marriage is Illegal
This poster has been designed by Shivani Sharma from
Class X, KP ISP Nasik, Maharasthra
a ctIvIty 13.3
Read the case study given below and reflect
on the question.
I am Munni. I was born in a very poor family. I
am 17 years old now and have two children of age
5 and 3. My parents never thought of educating
me. They thought that education is not meant for
girls and more so for poor people.
Questions for reflection
1. Why was Munni married so early?
2. How early marriage impacted Munni?
3. If you were in Munni’s place what would
you have done?
Page 4
13.1 IntroductIon We have discussed health in previous chapters. By now you
must have realised that health does not only mean freedom
from diseases. It is much more. Health is the state of physical,
mental and social well-being. It should be viewed in a holistic
way. An individual may be physically and mentally healthy,
but if her/his social condition is problematic, she/he cannot
achieve holistic health. In the present chapter, we shall focus
on various aspects of social health.
13.2 What Is s ocIal h ealth ?
Let us first understand the meaning of social health. We know
that social health is one of the three major components of
health, the other two being physical and mental. Social health
can be defined in two ways. In one sense, it refers to the
health of a person with reference to her/his ability to interact
with others. It also refers to the health of a society in general.
It focuses on how the members of a society treat each other
and behave with each other. What kind of social environment
prevails and how the prevailing customs and traditions guide
the behaviour of individuals towards self, each other and
towards the society as a whole also form social health. Social
Health also includes how individual’s natural environment
around them is. The role of the community as a whole acquires
great importance for enhancing and maintaining the quality of
the health of individuals. Although there are many dimensions
of social health, we shall discuss below the impact of social
customs on our health, the need to protect natural resources
and the empowerment of community for healthy living.
13.3 Impact of s ocIal c ustoms
Customs and traditions prevalent in a society influence all
aspects of the lives of individuals, including their health and
welfare. What people eat, how they eat, how they live and care
for their own health as well as the health of their near and dear
ones are influenced by the prevailing customs and traditions.
Let us first understand the meaning of the term custom.
13.3.1 What is a Custom?
Customs generally refer to beliefs, habits or actions performed
in the past and transmitted through time from one generation
Social Health
13
a ctIvIty 13.1
Make a list of
customs having a
positive and negative
impact on the health
of individual and
society prevailing in
your neighbourhood.
Share with your
classmates their
implications on
health?
Health and Physical Education — Class IX
to the next. These are derived from social norms which are
rules or standards that guide, control or regulate proper and
acceptable behaviour of a group. These norms define the shared
expectations of a group and enable people to anticipate how
others will interpret and respond to their words and actions
if there is a deviation from these norms. For example, there
are customs and traditions related to marriage ceremonies.
These are observed by not only those who are getting married
but also by the other members of the family and community.
Many of the customs have positive impact on the relationships
in a family and community. However, many of the customs
have negative impact as well. For example, there are customs
prevalent in many communities, like early marriage or
discriminating against female child, or choice of spouse, which
adversely affect the health and well-being not only of the female
child but of the society as a whole.
13.3.2 Customs and Health
In every society, the individuals,
families and communities observe
many customs that have direct
bearing on health. From the
moment of birth of a child, customs
begin to shape experiences and
behaviour of the child. In reality,
by the time children can think
independently, the health-related
customs of the family have already
become an intimate part of their
personalities. They do not question
these customs, as they are deeply
held and protected by the society.
It becomes extremely difficult to
change them. Let us understand
this by considering what happened
to Seema.
The experiences of Seema
shows the negative impact of social
customs on health.
Let us consider the influence
of customs on the thinking and
behaviour of individuals in respect
of early marriage, breastfeeding
practices, family size, preference for
male child and substance abuse. All
these affect family and community
health.
a ctIvIty 13.2
Seema studies in Class IX in a small town. She
has two elder brothers. Both the brothers get a
lot of attention from the parents. Parents believe
that both their sons should get larger portion
of milk, cheese and eggs. They tell Seema that
her brothers need to be strong as they will grow
up to head their families in future. On the
other hand, parents tell Seema that she should
eat less, otherwise she will look too grown up
and big for her age. One day, while in class,
Seema told her teacher that she was feeling
dizzy. Before the teacher could do anything,
she fainted. The teacher took her to a nearby
hospital and then went home with her. The
teacher told Seema’s parents that the doctor
had said that it was because of anaemia that
she had fainted and that it was very important
to ensure that Seema gets good nutrition to
remain healthy.
Think
1. Do you think the reasons given by
Seema’s parents for ensuring that their
sons get good nutrition while neglecting
Seema’s nutritional needs are justified?
Give reasons.
2. What are the customs related to diet for
girls in your family and community?
Social Health
Early Marriage
Although efforts have been made since long to ensure that
marriages take place at proper age, the problem of early
marriage and even child marriage is still continuing in many
communities in India. The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1978
stipulates legal age of marriage as 18 for girls and 21 for boys,
but social customs encourage early marriage even now. You may
have heard the word kanyadan. Influenced by
prevailing customs, many parents consider
it good to marry their daughters even before
she attains puberty. The tradition of dowry is
another factor for early marriage in India. It is
believed that dowry will be lower if the bride is
younger in age.
The early marriage custom puts pressure
on young married women to prove their
fertility resulting in high rates of adolescent
pregnancy. Adolescent pregnancy leads to
greater health risks for the teenage mother
and her child. Biologically, she is yet to attain
reproductive maturity. There are chances of
prolonged labour that can result in severe
damage to the reproductive tract. The available
evidence suggests that maternal deaths
are considerably higher among adolescent
mothers than among mature mothers. The
babies born to adolescent mothers generally
have low birth-weight. Such babies are more
likely to die at birth or in infancy. Early
pregnancy increases the risk of maternal
and child morbidity and mortality. Early
pregnancy also has serious psychological,
social and economic consequences.
It continues to affect adversely the
educational, economic and social
status of women and is likely to
have negative impact on the quality
of life of the family.
In many cases, young girls are
married to older men. Such girls
do not have the courage to take
decisions related to family needs,
lack power and are more likely
to experience partner violence.
National Family Health Survey
(NFHS-3, 2005, 2006) reveals that
27 per cent young women and
Fig. 13.1 : Child Marriage is Illegal
This poster has been designed by Shivani Sharma from
Class X, KP ISP Nasik, Maharasthra
a ctIvIty 13.3
Read the case study given below and reflect
on the question.
I am Munni. I was born in a very poor family. I
am 17 years old now and have two children of age
5 and 3. My parents never thought of educating
me. They thought that education is not meant for
girls and more so for poor people.
Questions for reflection
1. Why was Munni married so early?
2. How early marriage impacted Munni?
3. If you were in Munni’s place what would
you have done?
Health and Physical Education — Class IX
3 per cent young men in the
age-group of 15-19 years were
married.
Breastfeeding
We have seen above the adverse
effects of social customs
promoting early marriage in our
society. But some customs do
have positive impact, for example,
consider the issue related to
breastfeeding. We are aware that
traditionally mothers breastfeed
their infants for a year or two and
sometimes even longer. This has
been an accepted norm. But now-
a-days, due to paucity of time
and as a matter of convenience,
some mothers do not breastfeed
their infants. Life style concern
also comes in the way of breast
feeding. They choose to shift to
powdered or bottled milk as a
substitute for breast milk. Today
an increasing number of women
are working outside their homes
and bottle feeding seems to be
considered a more convenient
option for them. Those who
choose to breastfeed are looked
down upon. Breastfeeding in
public is also not an acceptable
option.
However, there are two
significant needs, which make
breastfeeding important both
for the mother as well as the
child. One is nutritional while
the other is psychological.
While the nutritional benefit of
breastfeeding is no doubt very
important, the psychological
bonding which develops between
the child and the mother due
to breastfeeding is unparalleled
and has a positive impact on the
health of both.
a ctIvIty 13.4
Find answers to the following questions
• In which of the Indian States do we find a
large number of girls being married before
they attain the legal age of marriage?
• Have you ever thought how early marriage
affects both boys and girls, more particularly
the girls? Describe.
• Why early marriages in large number
continue ingnoring the legal provision.
• How it affects the health of mother and child?
• Discuss with your classmates how to
convince parents not to marry their children
at an early age.
a ctIvIty 13.5
Read the case study given below and answer the
questions given at the end.
Sangeeta was studying in Class IX when her
marriage was fixed with a person twice her age.
Although she wanted to study further, she was
pulled out of school because she was the eldest in
the family and there were three more sisters to be
married off. Soon after marriage, her husband and
in-laws started pressurising her to become pregnant
as they wanted an heir to their family. Sangeeta
was unhappy but she did not have a choice. Within
three months of her marriage, she got pregnant.
Despite not keeping well during the pregnancy, she
was made to do most of the household work. In the
fifth month of her pregnancy, she had a miscarriage
(abortion). Rather than supporting her through this
difficult experience, her in-laws blamed Sangeeta
for not giving them an heir.
Questions for reflection
1. Who all are responsible for Sangeeta’s
condition?
2. If you were in Sangeeta’s situation, What
would you have done?
3. If Sangeeta was a boy, would things have
been different? In what ways?
4. What would you do to convice the parents to
avoid age related mismatch in the marriage
of boys and girls of your locality.
Page 5
13.1 IntroductIon We have discussed health in previous chapters. By now you
must have realised that health does not only mean freedom
from diseases. It is much more. Health is the state of physical,
mental and social well-being. It should be viewed in a holistic
way. An individual may be physically and mentally healthy,
but if her/his social condition is problematic, she/he cannot
achieve holistic health. In the present chapter, we shall focus
on various aspects of social health.
13.2 What Is s ocIal h ealth ?
Let us first understand the meaning of social health. We know
that social health is one of the three major components of
health, the other two being physical and mental. Social health
can be defined in two ways. In one sense, it refers to the
health of a person with reference to her/his ability to interact
with others. It also refers to the health of a society in general.
It focuses on how the members of a society treat each other
and behave with each other. What kind of social environment
prevails and how the prevailing customs and traditions guide
the behaviour of individuals towards self, each other and
towards the society as a whole also form social health. Social
Health also includes how individual’s natural environment
around them is. The role of the community as a whole acquires
great importance for enhancing and maintaining the quality of
the health of individuals. Although there are many dimensions
of social health, we shall discuss below the impact of social
customs on our health, the need to protect natural resources
and the empowerment of community for healthy living.
13.3 Impact of s ocIal c ustoms
Customs and traditions prevalent in a society influence all
aspects of the lives of individuals, including their health and
welfare. What people eat, how they eat, how they live and care
for their own health as well as the health of their near and dear
ones are influenced by the prevailing customs and traditions.
Let us first understand the meaning of the term custom.
13.3.1 What is a Custom?
Customs generally refer to beliefs, habits or actions performed
in the past and transmitted through time from one generation
Social Health
13
a ctIvIty 13.1
Make a list of
customs having a
positive and negative
impact on the health
of individual and
society prevailing in
your neighbourhood.
Share with your
classmates their
implications on
health?
Health and Physical Education — Class IX
to the next. These are derived from social norms which are
rules or standards that guide, control or regulate proper and
acceptable behaviour of a group. These norms define the shared
expectations of a group and enable people to anticipate how
others will interpret and respond to their words and actions
if there is a deviation from these norms. For example, there
are customs and traditions related to marriage ceremonies.
These are observed by not only those who are getting married
but also by the other members of the family and community.
Many of the customs have positive impact on the relationships
in a family and community. However, many of the customs
have negative impact as well. For example, there are customs
prevalent in many communities, like early marriage or
discriminating against female child, or choice of spouse, which
adversely affect the health and well-being not only of the female
child but of the society as a whole.
13.3.2 Customs and Health
In every society, the individuals,
families and communities observe
many customs that have direct
bearing on health. From the
moment of birth of a child, customs
begin to shape experiences and
behaviour of the child. In reality,
by the time children can think
independently, the health-related
customs of the family have already
become an intimate part of their
personalities. They do not question
these customs, as they are deeply
held and protected by the society.
It becomes extremely difficult to
change them. Let us understand
this by considering what happened
to Seema.
The experiences of Seema
shows the negative impact of social
customs on health.
Let us consider the influence
of customs on the thinking and
behaviour of individuals in respect
of early marriage, breastfeeding
practices, family size, preference for
male child and substance abuse. All
these affect family and community
health.
a ctIvIty 13.2
Seema studies in Class IX in a small town. She
has two elder brothers. Both the brothers get a
lot of attention from the parents. Parents believe
that both their sons should get larger portion
of milk, cheese and eggs. They tell Seema that
her brothers need to be strong as they will grow
up to head their families in future. On the
other hand, parents tell Seema that she should
eat less, otherwise she will look too grown up
and big for her age. One day, while in class,
Seema told her teacher that she was feeling
dizzy. Before the teacher could do anything,
she fainted. The teacher took her to a nearby
hospital and then went home with her. The
teacher told Seema’s parents that the doctor
had said that it was because of anaemia that
she had fainted and that it was very important
to ensure that Seema gets good nutrition to
remain healthy.
Think
1. Do you think the reasons given by
Seema’s parents for ensuring that their
sons get good nutrition while neglecting
Seema’s nutritional needs are justified?
Give reasons.
2. What are the customs related to diet for
girls in your family and community?
Social Health
Early Marriage
Although efforts have been made since long to ensure that
marriages take place at proper age, the problem of early
marriage and even child marriage is still continuing in many
communities in India. The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1978
stipulates legal age of marriage as 18 for girls and 21 for boys,
but social customs encourage early marriage even now. You may
have heard the word kanyadan. Influenced by
prevailing customs, many parents consider
it good to marry their daughters even before
she attains puberty. The tradition of dowry is
another factor for early marriage in India. It is
believed that dowry will be lower if the bride is
younger in age.
The early marriage custom puts pressure
on young married women to prove their
fertility resulting in high rates of adolescent
pregnancy. Adolescent pregnancy leads to
greater health risks for the teenage mother
and her child. Biologically, she is yet to attain
reproductive maturity. There are chances of
prolonged labour that can result in severe
damage to the reproductive tract. The available
evidence suggests that maternal deaths
are considerably higher among adolescent
mothers than among mature mothers. The
babies born to adolescent mothers generally
have low birth-weight. Such babies are more
likely to die at birth or in infancy. Early
pregnancy increases the risk of maternal
and child morbidity and mortality. Early
pregnancy also has serious psychological,
social and economic consequences.
It continues to affect adversely the
educational, economic and social
status of women and is likely to
have negative impact on the quality
of life of the family.
In many cases, young girls are
married to older men. Such girls
do not have the courage to take
decisions related to family needs,
lack power and are more likely
to experience partner violence.
National Family Health Survey
(NFHS-3, 2005, 2006) reveals that
27 per cent young women and
Fig. 13.1 : Child Marriage is Illegal
This poster has been designed by Shivani Sharma from
Class X, KP ISP Nasik, Maharasthra
a ctIvIty 13.3
Read the case study given below and reflect
on the question.
I am Munni. I was born in a very poor family. I
am 17 years old now and have two children of age
5 and 3. My parents never thought of educating
me. They thought that education is not meant for
girls and more so for poor people.
Questions for reflection
1. Why was Munni married so early?
2. How early marriage impacted Munni?
3. If you were in Munni’s place what would
you have done?
Health and Physical Education — Class IX
3 per cent young men in the
age-group of 15-19 years were
married.
Breastfeeding
We have seen above the adverse
effects of social customs
promoting early marriage in our
society. But some customs do
have positive impact, for example,
consider the issue related to
breastfeeding. We are aware that
traditionally mothers breastfeed
their infants for a year or two and
sometimes even longer. This has
been an accepted norm. But now-
a-days, due to paucity of time
and as a matter of convenience,
some mothers do not breastfeed
their infants. Life style concern
also comes in the way of breast
feeding. They choose to shift to
powdered or bottled milk as a
substitute for breast milk. Today
an increasing number of women
are working outside their homes
and bottle feeding seems to be
considered a more convenient
option for them. Those who
choose to breastfeed are looked
down upon. Breastfeeding in
public is also not an acceptable
option.
However, there are two
significant needs, which make
breastfeeding important both
for the mother as well as the
child. One is nutritional while
the other is psychological.
While the nutritional benefit of
breastfeeding is no doubt very
important, the psychological
bonding which develops between
the child and the mother due
to breastfeeding is unparalleled
and has a positive impact on the
health of both.
a ctIvIty 13.4
Find answers to the following questions
• In which of the Indian States do we find a
large number of girls being married before
they attain the legal age of marriage?
• Have you ever thought how early marriage
affects both boys and girls, more particularly
the girls? Describe.
• Why early marriages in large number
continue ingnoring the legal provision.
• How it affects the health of mother and child?
• Discuss with your classmates how to
convince parents not to marry their children
at an early age.
a ctIvIty 13.5
Read the case study given below and answer the
questions given at the end.
Sangeeta was studying in Class IX when her
marriage was fixed with a person twice her age.
Although she wanted to study further, she was
pulled out of school because she was the eldest in
the family and there were three more sisters to be
married off. Soon after marriage, her husband and
in-laws started pressurising her to become pregnant
as they wanted an heir to their family. Sangeeta
was unhappy but she did not have a choice. Within
three months of her marriage, she got pregnant.
Despite not keeping well during the pregnancy, she
was made to do most of the household work. In the
fifth month of her pregnancy, she had a miscarriage
(abortion). Rather than supporting her through this
difficult experience, her in-laws blamed Sangeeta
for not giving them an heir.
Questions for reflection
1. Who all are responsible for Sangeeta’s
condition?
2. If you were in Sangeeta’s situation, What
would you have done?
3. If Sangeeta was a boy, would things have
been different? In what ways?
4. What would you do to convice the parents to
avoid age related mismatch in the marriage
of boys and girls of your locality.
Social Health
There are many reasons why breast milk is healthier.
Breast milk contains more than hundred nutrients that cannot
be prepared in the laboratory. These nutrients are essential for
the healthy growth and development of the child. In fact, the
caloric density, protein, carbohydrate and fat in breast milk are
very important for the growth of the child. Breast milk is free
from contamination by bacteria and is easier for the infant’s
stomach to digest. Infants who are breastfed for at least eight
months have reduced incidence of many diseases. The first
secretion from the mother’s breast after the birth of the infant
is known as colostrum. Scientific studies have shown that it
is extremely good for the new born. But in some communities
the mother is asked not to feed this fluid to the child, as they
ignorantly think it to be impure. Such customs with a negative
impact should be discouraged by creating awareness.
Family Size, Preference for Male Child
Another set of customs and tradition that have adverse impact
on social health is related to family size. Many people believe
that child birth is a gift of God and individuals should not
interfere with this divine process. People also have preference
for male child. Many a time parents go on giving birth to
children, and the size of the family continues to grow, until a
male child is born. This belief contributes to increasing number
of children in the family. Some parents want to have at least
two male children. The preference for male child has been the
main cause of discrimination against girls. Girls are considered
inferior to boys. Owing to discrimination, nutritional needs of
girls are not met adequatly. All food items that are served to
boys are not given to girls or are given in very less quantity.
The girls are also discriminated in availing education facilities.
In the process, girls are married off very early.
The discrimination against females has been a grave
problem in our society. You must have read about the inverse
sex ratio being a problem in our country as discused earlier.
Parents get the pregnancy test done in a clinic and if they find
it to be a female foetus, they get it aborted. Many girl children
are killed just after their birth.
Substance Abuse
You have already studied in detail about substance abuse in
Chapter 2. It is also known as drug abuse which has become a
serious problem in our society.
It is important to note that social customs have been closely
related with the drug or substance abuse related behaviour of
individuals since ages. Indian society, which enjoys cultural
diversity, has a history of use of plant products such as,
a ctIvIty 13.6
• Examine the breast
feeding publicity
material (points,
video, posters).
• Which one do
you think is more
appealing to women
and elderly to
accept the message
of breast feeding.
Box 13.1
Findout sex
ratio of your and
neighbouring states
and analyse the
facts.
Read More