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Maternal mortality is on an average 18 times higher in developed countries compared to developing countries.(1) In addition to the number of deaths each year, over 50 million women suffer from maternal morbidity due to acute complications from pregnancy.(2)

Maternal mortality and morbidity continue to be high despite the existence of national programs for improving maternal and child health in India. This could be related to several factors, an important one being non-utilization or under-utilization of maternal health-care services, especially amongst the rural poor and urban slum population due to either lack of awareness or access to health-care services. Understanding of the knowledge and practices of the community regarding maternity care during pregnancy, delivery and postnatal period is required for program implementation. Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate the sociodemographic …