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Medical Thesis Topics

MD

40 Maternity and Child Health Thesis Topics

Academic session 2026-2027  · 40 topics

This page lists 40 maternity and child health thesis topics for MD candidates in India for the 2026-2027 academic session. This subject sits closer to public health than to clinical obstetrics or paediatrics, and the distinction matters when choosing a topic: the unit of interest is usually the service and its coverage rather than the individual patient’s management.

The maternity and child health thesis topics below reflect that orientation. They cover antenatal and postnatal service coverage, institutional delivery, maternal nutrition and anaemia, newborn care practices, immunization coverage, child growth and development, programme utilisation, referral and transport, and the determinants of health seeking behaviour among mothers.

Click any topic to open it in the protocol generator with the title already filled in.

  1. A cross-sectional study of antenatal care coverage and its determinants in a rural field practice areaGet protocol
  2. A study of the timing of first antenatal visit and factors influencing early registrationGet protocol
  3. An observational study of the completeness of antenatal services received by pregnant womenGet protocol
  4. A cross-sectional study of institutional delivery coverage and its determinantsGet protocol
  5. A study of the reasons for home delivery among women in a defined communityGet protocol
  6. An observational study of birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant womenGet protocol
  7. A cross-sectional study of postnatal care coverage within the first six weeks of deliveryGet protocol
  8. A study of maternal knowledge of danger signs during pregnancy and the postnatal periodGet protocol
  9. A cross-sectional study of anaemia prevalence among pregnant women in a community settingGet protocol
  10. An observational study of iron and folic acid supplementation compliance during pregnancyGet protocol
  11. A study of dietary practices and nutritional status among pregnant womenGet protocol
  12. A cross-sectional study of the prevalence of low birth weight and its determinants in a defined populationGet protocol
  13. An observational study of maternal weight gain during pregnancy and its association with birth weightGet protocol
  14. A study of calcium supplementation coverage among pregnant women in a field practice areaGet protocol
  15. A cross-sectional study of essential newborn care practices in the first week of lifeGet protocol
  16. An observational study of early initiation of breastfeeding and its determinantsGet protocol
  17. A study of exclusive breastfeeding prevalence among mothers of infants under six monthsGet protocol
  18. A cross-sectional study of the age at introduction and adequacy of complementary feeding in a defined communityGet protocol
  19. An observational study of newborn care seeking behaviour for illness in the first monthGet protocol
  20. A study of umbilical cord care practices among mothers in a rural communityGet protocol
  21. A cross-sectional study of immunization coverage among children aged twelve to twenty-three monthsGet protocol
  22. A study of the reasons for partial and non-immunization in a defined communityGet protocol
  23. An observational study of the timeliness of vaccination against the recommended scheduleGet protocol
  24. A cross-sectional study of vaccine hesitancy and its determinants among caregiversGet protocol
  25. An observational study of the utilisation of village health and nutrition daysGet protocol
  26. A cross-sectional study of growth monitoring coverage among children under five yearsGet protocol
  27. A study of the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight among preschool childrenGet protocol
  28. An observational study of the utilisation of supplementary nutrition services by eligible childrenGet protocol
  29. A cross-sectional study of developmental screening findings among children under three yearsGet protocol
  30. A study of the prevalence and management of childhood diarrhoea in a community settingGet protocol
  31. An observational study of care seeking for acute respiratory infection among children under fiveGet protocol
  32. A cross-sectional study of the utilisation of maternal and child health services at a primary health centreGet protocol
  33. An observational study of the availability of essential maternal and child health supplies at health facilitiesGet protocol
  34. A study of the functioning of the referral and transport system for obstetric emergenciesGet protocol
  35. A cross-sectional study of the contact frequency between community health workers and beneficiariesGet protocol
  36. An observational study of the utilisation of conditional cash transfer schemes for maternal healthGet protocol
  37. A cross-sectional study of out of pocket expenditure on maternal and child health servicesGet protocol
  38. A study of the determinants of health seeking behaviour among mothers of young childrenGet protocol
  39. A cross-sectional study of contraceptive use and unmet need among women of reproductive ageGet protocol
  40. An observational study of birth spacing and its determinants among women in a defined communityGet protocol

Choosing a Maternity and Child Health thesis topic

How does this differ from an obstetrics or paediatrics thesis?

By where the participants come from and what is being measured. A clinical thesis studies patients presenting to a department and measures their management and outcome. A maternity and child health thesis studies a defined population, whether or not they sought care, and measures coverage, utilisation and determinants. Studies of non-users are often the most valuable, and they cannot be done from a hospital register.

What sampling is used in maternal and child health research?

Usually population based sampling through the department's field practice area, with the thirty cluster method or a systematic household approach for coverage estimates. The recall period needs stating precisely — mothers of children under two years for infant feeding, women who delivered in the preceding twelve months for delivery care — because ambiguous recall windows are the commonest weakness in these studies.

What ethical issues arise in maternal and child health research?

Consent must be individual even when access is arranged through a village health worker or community leader. Where a survey identifies a malnourished child, an unimmunised infant or an anaemic mother, the protocol must state what referral will be offered, since screening a community and offering nothing is not acceptable. Questions about pregnancy loss or infant death need particular sensitivity in wording.

Thesis and protocol questions

How is a thesis topic different from a thesis protocol?

The topic is the title — the question a study sets out to answer, together with the population and the design. The protocol is the full document built around it: background, review of literature, aims and objectives, inclusion and exclusion criteria, sample size calculation, methodology, statistical plan, ethics considerations, consent documents and references. A topic is agreed with a guide first; the protocol is written afterwards and submitted to the institutional ethics committee.

When does a postgraduate thesis have to be submitted?

For most Indian postgraduate programmes the protocol is submitted within the first six months of joining, and the completed thesis is submitted at least six months before the final examination. Exact deadlines are set by the university, so the departmental circular for the current session takes precedence over any general timeline.

How is sample size decided for a postgraduate thesis?

Sample size follows from the primary objective, not the other way round. A prevalence study is powered from an expected proportion and an acceptable margin of error; a comparative study is powered from the expected difference between groups, the standard deviation, alpha and desired power. The figure should then be checked against the institution's actual case load for the study period, because a statistically ideal sample that cannot be recruited in the time available is not a workable plan.

Does a thesis topic need ethics committee approval?

Yes. Every postgraduate thesis involving human participants, human data or human samples requires clearance from the institutional ethics committee before data collection begins. Approval is granted on the protocol rather than on the title, and the submission usually includes the protocol, the participant information sheet and the consent form in English and in the local language.

What makes a topic realistic for a three-year postgraduate programme?

A workable topic can be completed at a single centre, with equipment and investigations that are already available in routine practice, within roughly eighteen months of data collection. Topics that depend on external funding, specialised assays, multicentre coordination or long follow-up tend to stall. Choosing a condition the department already sees in volume matters more than choosing a novel one.

Can a thesis be published as a research paper afterwards?

Yes, and it is generally expected. A thesis is usually condensed into a paper of around three to four thousand words, restructured into the standard introduction, methods, results and discussion format, with the review of literature shortened considerably. Journals differ in their requirements, and the ethics approval number from the original thesis is normally cited in the methods section.

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