‘122 mothers die per one lakh births in Gujarat’

National Safe Motherhood Day Say experts who alsobelieve that government’s maternal health programmes need improvement

 Despite initiating several hyped maternal health programmes, the Government of Gujarat has failed to reach the targeted maternity mortality rate (MMR) under the Millennium Development Goal (MDG), claim experts working for the safety of motherhood across the state.

On Nation Safe Motherhood Day, dna spoke to a few experts on maternal health, who stated that the administration has launched a number of innovative schemes, like the Kasturba Gandhi Poshan Yojana and Bal Sakha Yojana, but it is still a challenge for migrating, marginalised women and their families to avail their benefits. “MDG has set a national target of MMR to100 per one lakh births. But, according to the latest data released by the Registrar General of India in 2012, the mortality rate in Gujarat is still 122 per one lakh births,” said Dr. Harsha Shah, a gynecologist who works for maternal health.

The article “Maternal Health in Gujarat: A Case Study,” states that despite the laudable new initiatives, such as the Chiranjeevi Yojana, training of MBBS doctors, and other innovations to fill the staff vacancies, the absence of a reliable system for the registration of maternal deaths makes it difficult to measure progress.

Echoing the same opinion, a survey done by Duke University stated that the Chiranjeevi Yojna has been largely unsuccessful. “We were surprised to find that even among those who delivered at health care facilities, there were no significant reductions in households’ out-of-pocket expenditures for deliveries,” wrote assistant professor of public policy, global health, and economics, Manoj Mohanan Duke, who led the research team.

“How do you expect a family with no financial support to run from pillar to post to get medical help under Chiranjeevi when it is so complicated?” said Sangeeta Macwan from Sahaj, an NGO that works for maternal health. “Doctors at times are harassed by government officers who with any economic benefits help poor people,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Government also started the Mamta Kits Program to provide nutritious food to mothers. Nevertheless, according to Dr. Nandini Srivastava, a member of Deepak Foundation, women are denied this resource many a times.

In another shocking disclosure, Macwan complained that even though the ‘take-home ration’ is nutrition-rich, women hardly consume it since “the foods in packets are unpalatable.”

Citing several causes of the high rate of maternal death, Dr. Shah blamed hemoglobin levels not being assessed despite the fact that more than 50 percent of pregnant women are anemic.

“After six months of pregnancy, the conceived mother should start taking nutrition supplements like iron, protein, and receive a tetanus toxoid immunization to avoid complication during delivery”, said Smitha Bajpai, program coordinator in Chaitra, an organization that works towards safe motherhood.

“Lack of awareness and medical facilities shy away patients from treatments,” she added.

The condition is gloomier in rural areas, where women are subjected to negligence and harassment. “As a result, they avoid going to hospitals and prefer to deliver their babies in houses, which increases the risk of mortality by 60 to 70 percent,” stated Dr. Srivastava.

However, contrasting the facts above, an official of the health department who requested anonymity said: “Previously it was 148 deaths per lakh but now it has reduced to 122 deaths. During the recent year, it has gone down by 26 percent. We can meet the target under MDG in the upcoming year.”