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saving lives Most deaths at childbirth are avoidable

Every seven minutes an Indian woman dies from pregnancy or child birth related complications. Cord blood banking and maternity shopping may be an urban reality. But in the cutaway pockets of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, Sahibas, Srimati Naiks and Sunitas are giving birth at the age of 15, receiving hardly any antenatal check up, giving birth at short intervals and having their eight and ninth babies. For quite a few of them, the pregnancies turn fatal.

Turning the spotlight on these oft-ignored realities on National Safe Motherhood Day recently was The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood – India (WRAI). A campaign aimed at bringing down the number of maternal and child death, “Deliver now for women and children,” was also launched. Over half a million women die in pregnancy or childbirth of which over 70,000 are in India, warned the statistics.

“The campaign will be first rolled out in Orissa,” said Aparajita Gogoi, national co-ordinator of WRAI, at a press conference. Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and Rajasthan are States which fare abysmally in protecting maternal and foetal lives. Celebrities and activists associated with the campaign drove home the point that 70 to 80 per cent of maternal deaths during child birth were totally avoidable.

“I am emotionally committed to the issue,” said actress Shabana Azmi, WRAI’s Ambassador for Safe Motherhood. “India may be talking of her economic strength, but the sad fact is that poor rural women are dying and nobody is taking notice,” she said. Riding on the gravity of numbers, Azmi said, “The number of women who die in childbirth in a week in India is higher than the whole of Europe in a whole year.”

Subir Malik of the rock band Parikrama and the Youth Icon for Safe Motherhood said the abominably high number of deaths in childbirth was a matter of shame. He said he was committed to spreading awareness among the young.

Vinod Paul from The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, asserted the need for a global fund to save dying mothers in Africa, India and other countries. “The largest number of maternal and child deaths happen in our country,” he said.

He, however, also highlighted the baby steps we were taking to address the problem. “We are empowering families to go in for institutional delivery by offering financial benefits,” he said.

Nasim Tumkaya, resident representative to India, United Nations Fund for Population Activities, asserted the need to address the prevalent mindset. He reminded that safe delivery is not the responsibility of the woman, but that of the men, society and government. “There is no need for any woman to die in delivery. Every delivery can be a safe delivery,” Nasim said.

The urgent need to provide skilled services even in areas where accessibility is a problem and the importance of insurance cover for maternity was highlighted at the event.

P. ANIMA

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