The slow response of maternal and child health care problems to control strategies in Nigeria
suggests that the health sector requires more holistic study. This study focuses on
case-specifics of the affected communities and examines the incidence of maternal and child
health care from entire cultural domain of the focused communities. The rural communities of
Osun state in Nigeria are the object of the study where the local conception of maternal and
child health was examined. Similarly the local people's perception of maternal and child
health was identified and various attitudes and practices affecting health care provisioning in
the rural communities of Osun state were similarly analysed. Relying on ethnographic methods of
data collection the text establishes that certain local attitudes are constraints against
equitable access to maternal and child health care facilities. It also establishes that there
are some other local practices which promote good health of the rural mothers and their
children. Specific findings show that illiteracy and low level of economic activities suffered
by mothers were the major causes of maternal and child health care problems in rural
communities.
