Women's education and its influence on attitudes to aspects of child-care in a village community in Kerala.

In this study of 78 rural mothers of preschoolers in Trichur District, Kerala, India, the author attempts to measure the impact of 10 years of schooling on their attitudes to five important aspects of child-care which have been hypothesized to be key factors in improved child survival. The possible reasons for the important findings of (1) stronger positive attitudes towards traditional aspects of child-care such as breast-feeding, and weaker positive attitudes towards immunization, and (2) no significant difference between educated and less educated women in any of the areas tested, are discussed. The study also explores the question of whether the education of husbands is more important in producing positive attitudes in women than their own educational status, and finds evidence to show that this is so with respect to immunization. The reasons for this are discussed.