Despite having the latest technology and the highest num ber of hospitals in the state, Ahmedabad has registered the highest number of baby deliveries outside hospitals. Every year, on an average, 5,000 deliveries are made either at home or in an ambulance. Shockingly, the number of such deliveries is higher in Ahmedabad district than in under-developed or tribal districts like Chhota Udepur, Valsad, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Porbandar and Navsari.
In March 2014, Nisha Rawal, a 27year-old from Vejalpur, almost lost her first child while giving birth at her house. Due to some complication, she went into labour two months before due date. Instead of rushing her to the hospital, her family decided to call a midwife for help. Things went wrong and Nisha lost a lot of blood. The family members finally rushed her to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where she delivered a healthy baby boy.
Her husband Hemant said, “I was out of station and my pregnant wife was staying with my mother who is in her mid-80s. Suddenly she went into labour. Seeing her in pain, my mother called an `aayah' living in the neighbourhood. The woman had the experi ence of delivering several babies.“
HIGH MMR, IMR
There is a general perception among people that home birth is common to tribal districts or rural areas. However, the five-year data provided by the state health department reveals a shocker: on an average, more than 5,000 children are born every year at home in Ahmedabad district. What's more shocking is that the number of such deliveries is higher than several tribal and under-developed districts like Valsad with 3,876 such births, Chhota Udepur with 1,145 such deliveries, Sabarkantha with 1,024, Navsari with 175, Porbandar with 32 and Mehsana with 12 home births.
Over the past few years, the state department has introduced several schemes like Chiranjeevi, Mamta, MA Yojana and Bal Sakha to provide nutritious food and monetary support to pregnant women to reduce maternal as well as infant mortality rate in the state. But experts working to improve maternal health feel that the state is overlooking basic maternity care.“Gujarat has one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in India.In such a situation, home birth puts the life of the mother and child at risk, causing spike in figures,“ said Gargi Mehta, an activist working for maternal health at rural areas.
Though the rate of home births has decreased in the past five years, it is still predominate in Ahmedabad. In comparison to 2010, when 6,789 babies were born at home, the number decreased to 5,298 in 2014. But the percentage of decline is miniscule compared to the money invested in maternal health. “Previously, all health schemes were focused on rural areas. Hence, the delivery system in those areas has improved. However, it is time to look at urban areas, too. In the new health mission plan, the govern ment has provided equal focus on both areas,“ said Smita Bajpai from Chetna, an NGO that works to improve IMR and MMR across the state.
AMBULANCE DELIVERY
Ahmedabad, which is considered a rising health hub of India, well-equipped with modern technology, has registered fourth highest number of deliveries in ambulance. Dahod which is a tribal area leads in this category with 801 deliveries in ambulance, followed by Bhavnagar (565), Amreli (481) and Ahmedabad (428).
Surprisingly, this figure is gradually increasing in the city. Only 123 such deliveries were reported in 2008. This has now surged to more than 400 on a yearly basis. In rural areas, pregnant mothers deliver the baby in the ambulance on the way to a far-off hospital.But it is boggling to find women delivering babies in ambulances in Ahmedabad which has several public and private hospitals covering most areas of the city. Smita explained, “The chocka-block traffic is the reason many women are forced to deliver in ambulances.The poor cannot afford expensive treatment provided at private hospitals. Also, unlike rural areas, there is no delivery centres except in some govt hospitals in the city. So, the number of ambulance births is high in the city.“
Some names changed to protect identities
No comments :
Post a Comment