Maternal and Child Health

Brief Summary: Improving Maternal and Child Health via Indigenous Structures The goal of this cluster randomized controlled community trial is to assess the effect of community-based interventions using indigenous community structures on the improvement of health and nutritional status in pregnant women (recruited before 16 weeks of gestation) and their children in Northwest Ethiopia. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does a community-based intervention using indigenous structures significantly improve the uptake of maternal health services (ANC, delivery, and PNC)? * Does the intervention effectively reduce the prevalence of maternal depression during the pregnancy and postpartum periods? * To what extent does the intervention improve the nutritional status (reducing thinness and stunting) of mothers and their children? Researchers will compare a group of women receiving counseling from trained indigenous social support groups to a control group receiving only the routine health and nutrition education provided by the standard healthcare system to see if the indigenous approach leads to better health and nutritional outcomes. Participants will: * Receive four counseling sessions during pregnancy (starting before 16 weeks of gestation) and four additional sessions during the lactation period, conducted in their homes by trained social support groups. * Receive educational leaflets containing core health and nutrition messages and appropriate pictures. * Participate in two rounds of surveys (baseline, and endline) involving interviewer-administered questionnaires. * Undergo physical measurements, specifically mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), to assess nutritional status.

The goal of this observational study is to examine how urban slum food environments influence caregivers' feeding practices for children under five years of age in Pune. The main questions it aims to answer are: * What are the characteristics of the food environment in selected slums of Pune using the 5 A's framework: availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability, and accommodation? * What are caregivers' perceptions of food safety, food prestige, and convenience as additional drivers of food choice within the slum context? * Are caregivers' aware, and have understanding about the use of packaged food labels, especially in relation to identifying foods for young children? * How do the local food environment and food choice (FEFC) drivers interact to influence caregivers' feeding practices, with a particular focus on the consumption of unhealthy foods and sugar-sweetened beverages among children under five years of age? Participants will be interviewed using digital forms to assess their food environment and food choice drivers. Anthropometric measurements of all children under five years of age in the household will be taken.