A woman dies from childbirth complications every few minutes in rural Gujarat, and the number has been running in lakhs every year. Reason? Most women in the rural areas of the state are hesitant to dial emergency services, and this has led to a steady rise in the number of mother and child mortality rate.
Psychological stress caused by the siren of the ambulance is one of the top ranking reasons why women prefer home deliveries. Lack of information about the Cheeranjivi scheme, unavailability of transport and fear of hospitals are other reasons.
Haemorrhage, infection, obstructed labour, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, and complications of unsafe abortion are the direct causes of maternal deaths.
There are birth-related disabilities like injuries to pelvic muscles, organs or the spinal cord that goes untreated in many women. At least 20 per cent of the diseases in children below the age of 5 are related to poor maternal health and nutrition.
"A majority of these deaths and disabilities can be prevented if sufficient care is provided during pregnancy and delivery. About 15% of pregnancies need emergency care because of complications that are difficult to predict," said Pallavi Patel, deputy director, Chetna, a city-based NGO.
A pilot project carried out in Vasda and Chikli areas of Navsari by Chetna revealed that women in these areas are either hesitant of dialling 108 emergency services or are entirely unaware of the availability of such services.
The closest medical treatment available to these women is through the midwives. A training session about the awareness of the emergency services started in 2006 by the NGO has trained over 340 midwives and 240 village sarpanchs on Navsari.
The midwives were not only trained about the right medical treatment to be provided during and after delivery but were also made aware about the fact that they are entitled to Rs50 by the hospitals for a home delivery and Rs200 for a hospital delivery.
"In Chikli, women have started using 108 to call the emergency services. Replication of this training session for midwives and sarpanches will bring down the mother and child mortality rates in the state to 0," said Suresh Mandhiya, sarpanch of Dhakmad village.
Zulkibai Kuvar, a midwife, said that after the awareness campaign, people of her village are making good use of the Cheeranjivi and Janani Suraksha schemes, where government pays for a mother's hospital delivery, including the cost of transport.
"Our earnings as midwives have come down but at the end of the day, saving a life means more to us than earning a few extra bucks," she said.
"Lack of quality healthcare and access to medical care seems to be one of the primary
reasons for this dangerously high maternal death rate," said Dr Sangita Chawla, a gynaecologist.
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