Every day, a mother is breathing her last after giving birth in Punjab, on an average. As many as 480 maternal deaths in 2018-19 and 370 in 2019-20 (up to December 2019) have been reported across Punjab.
Among the districts witnessing high maternal deaths are Ludhiana — 59 in 2018-19 and 65 in 2019-20, Amritsar — 62 in 2018-19 and 46 in 2019-20, Jalandhar — 39 in 2018-19 and 27 in 2019-20, Tarn Taran — 32 in 2018-19 and 18 in 2019-20, Ferozepur — 24 in 2018-19 and 21 in 2019-20, Muktsar — 24 in 2018-19 and 15 in 2019-20, among others.
Even as the State Government maintained that its performance in bringing down the maternal deaths is improving every year, the figures are somewhat disturbing. The state health and family welfare department, in close coordination with the Social Security and Child Development Department, are making all out efforts to being down the figures.
As per the latest data released by SRS (Sample Registration System), Punjab has recorded a remarkable cutback in Maternal Morality Rate (MMR) by 19 points from 141 per lakh live births to 122. In 2012, Punjab’s MMR was 172.
A senior government official told The Pioneer that to improve the infant mortality rate (IMR) and the maternal mortality ratio, “the Government is setting up new mother and child health (MCH) centres which has proved to be a boon for the mothers and the newborns”.
Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, while presenting the budget proposals on Friday, has announced six new MCH wings to be constructed at a cost of Rs 38 crore at Sub-Divisional Hospitals of Kharar, Phagwara, Jagraon, Budhladha, Malout and Giddarbaha.
Already, the State Government is establishing MCH centres at Moga, Tarn Taran, Fatehgarh Churian, Bham, Samana, Khanna, Sangrur, Malerkotla and Nakodar. Proposals to set up more MCH centres at Fatehgarh Sahib, Goniana, Khanna, among others, is also under consideration of the Health Department.
Other than that, the state government, during 2019-20, provided supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-ups, referral services and pre-school education to as many as 8.4 lakh children along with pregnant women and lactating mothers under the ‘Integrated Child Development Scheme’.
For the same, an allocation of Rs 65 crore has been made in the budget this year for achieving improvement in nutritional status of children from newborns to six years, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
The official listed our various reasons like illiteracy, poverty, unawareness about nutritional requirement and diet as manor reasons for the maternal deaths.
“We have been able to improve the institutional deliveries from 59 percent in 2008-09 to 98.3 percent in 2018-19,” said the official.
“Over the years, we have developed modernized infrastructure. We are also providing skill-based trainings with technical support so that the competency of health staff can be improved, and the intra-partum and immediate post-partum care services could also be improved,” added the official.
In addition to that, the State Government is also running a special campaign to motivate the families to conduct deliveries of pregnantwomen at the government hospitals instead of home.
“Public hospitals are well equipped with the advanced infrastructure, equipments, specialists, skilled Medical Officers and staff to save the precious lives of women and infants,” said the official.
As per Health Management Information System (HMIS) data (April-August 2019), Punjab has recorded the 98.3 percent institutional deliveries across the State which is the key factor of overall improvement of the IMR and MMR in Punjab.
