Health Status of currently Married Rural Working Women in Informal Labor Market

Abstract

Poverty is a multidimensional concept and usually it is defined by focusing narrowly on income poverty or broadly by including lack of access to opportunities for raising standards of living. Women in developing countries particularly poor working women is suffering badly from all these ills. Poverty induces them for working. Exposure to poor working conditions and poor health due to lack of money has serious repercussions on their pregnancies. The risk of miscarriages, premature deliveries and spontaneous abortions get increased. Questionnaire was developed to analyze and explain the relationship between working women’s health related with household characteristics and environment at work place .A descriptive study was carried out in three neighboring villages of Bahawalpur. Binary logistic model is used. We explored that women’s health is significantly influenced by availability/shortage of fundamental facilities which brings the household in poor group. Our main findings are that health of working women is strictly affected negatively by number of births, number of live children and hours of economic activity, while the provision of sanitation facilities, household income and family planning methods are positively affecting women’s health.

Keywords: Women Health, Rural working women, Informal sector, Premature Birth.