In line with the commitment of Bhagwant Mann led government, Punjab has made leaping progress in terms of reduction in the Maternal Mortality rate. Disclosing more about this achievement Health and Family Welfare Minister Chetan Singh Jauramajra informed this as per the latest data released by the Registrar General of India.
The maternal mortality in Punjab has come down significantly from 129 to 105 which is a 13.93 percentage reduction.It is pertinent to mention here that the death of a woman while she is pregnant or within 42 days of termination of her pregnancy is considered as Maternal Mortality.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Chetan Singh Jauramajra stated that MMR is a key indicator of state's health and socio economic development and Punjab is amongst the achievers. This is in sync with the trend of progressive reduction in the MMR over the years.
With this persistent decline, we are on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 70 per lakh live births by 2030.It is due to the tremendous efforts being made under the able leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to improve the state’s health infrastructure.
Jauramajra while underlining the causes of Maternal deaths stated that there are various reasons for the death of women during their reproductive age (18 to 39 years) such as anaemia, post partum haemorrhage, multiple pregnancies, less birth spacing, and poor family planning practices but he applauded the Health and Family Welfare Department Punjab for the successful implementation of various health improvement measures in the field of Maternal and child care
Such as the operationalization of 34 dedicated Mother and Child hospitals, high percentage of institutional deliveries in Punjab, Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB), Surakshit Matritva Ashwasan (SUMAN), Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative (LaQshya),Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY),Janani Shishu Suraksha Karaykram (JSSK), Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA).
Elaborating on the future steps by Punjab Health Department Jauramajra stated Punjab will strive to further reduce maternal mortality in line with SDG goals. He said that to promote normal deliveries in place of deliveries through caesarean section, Punjab is also bringing in a new cadre – the Nurse Practitioner in Midwifery (NPM).
For this National Midwifery Training Institute (NMTI) has been commissioned at the Mata Kaushalya School of Nursing at Patiala where International Midwifery Educators from New Zealand, England and Kenya have also been brought in by the State Government in collaboration with United Nations Population Fund to teach the first batch of Midwifery Educators. Punjab is the third state to start this prestigious institution amongst 16 states selected for this purpose.
Moreover, Punjab is successfully implementing the extended Pardhan Mantri Surakshit Matritav Abhiyan (PMSMA) through which all high risk pregnant women are being tracked and they are being provided with additional three ANCs which are done by Medical Officer at the nearest health institution.Each high risk pregnant woman is provided with a transport assistance of 100 rupees per visit.
Health Minister appealed to the general public to completely shun home deliveries or delivery by untrained dais etc.,infact they must opt for a government health institution where they are provided with free delivery services, nutrition support and free transport facilities.