Maternal and Infant Health Care Practices in Slums of Amritsar

Slums, an unwanted offshoot of modern industrialization and urbanization, are acquiring alarming dimensions with each passing day. The explosive increase in urban population without the requisite economic and social growth is leading to the formation of big and small slums. Etymology The word ‘Slum’ was originally used in the phrase “back slum” meaning a back room and later it meant a “back alley”. The origin of this word is believed to have come from Irish phrase ‘S lom e’ meaning exposed vulnerable place. Other terms which are used interchangeably with “slum” include shanty town, favela, skid row, barrio, ghetto, basti, chawls or tenement. Identification of an area as a slum is solely based on socio-economic criteria, not on racial, ethnic or religious criteria.1 1.2 Definition According to Census of India, slum areas broadly constitute: (i) All specified areas in a town or city notified as ‘slum’ by State/ Local Government / UT administration under any Act including a ‘Slum Act’.