Defining and Characterizing Temporary Childbirth Migration in India

Women returning to their natal homes for pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum is common and understudied in South Asia, with important implications for maternal and newborn health policies, as well as data quality and interpretation. Using data from 1252 women residing in a Health and Demographic Surveillance Site in Maharashtra, India we explore timing, duration and associated socio-economic factors with Temporary Childbirth Migration (TCM). Our overall goal is to develop a definition of temporary childbirth migration and situate it within demographic migration theory. Most (80%) of women migrated for over 1 month in the last trimester of pregnancy, with a sizeable proportion (22%) departing immediately after delivery. Socio-demographic factors were not associated with migrating during pregnancy; migrating postpartum was associated with younger age and higher education. Based on these findings, we propose a definition of Temporary childbirth Migration as a form of migration from husbands to natal homes and back, for at least one month duration, with departure and return at any time in the perinatal period. Given the potentially large number of women moving location for an extended duration in every pregnancy (in a country of over 1.4 billion), programs providing services to pregnant women and newborns should take this phenomenon into consideration. Additionally, data collection efforts at the clinical and household level should understand that women's place of delivery or receipt of prenatal or postnatal services may differ from her normal place of residence.