Birth waiting rooms for tribal women in eight PHCs of Adilabad

The tensions and fears that used to trouble tribal women ahead of giving birth to their babies, right from the fear of getting access to proper medical assistance and healthcare, are becoming history in the district.

Adilabad: The tensions and fears that used to trouble tribal women ahead of giving birth to their babies, right from the fear of getting access to proper medical assistance and healthcare, are becoming history in the district, which used to register deaths of over 10 new mothers every year.

The State government’s initiative of setting up birth waiting rooms in eight primary health centres situated in remote parts of the district is changing the story for tribal mothers in Adilabad.

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“The birth waiting rooms are being constructed in primary health centres (PHCs) of Boath, Utnoor, Narnoor, Neradigonda, Bazarhathnoor, Indervelli and Gadiguda mandal and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS)-Adilabad. Tribal pregnant women belonging to interior villages will be shifted to the rooms at least a week in advance to their delivery date,” District Medical and Health Officer Dr Narender Rathod told ‘Telangana Today.’

Considering bitter experiences in the form of deaths of new mothers reported in the past, the Health and Medical department has devised a first its kind initiative to address the menace. It has decided to construct the birth waiting rooms in PHCs to avoid deaths of tribal women either after giving birth or while being shifted to a hospital. An action plan has already been prepared to rush the pregnant women to these rooms.

As per information available with the department, 133 villages were identified to be problematic habitations. The villages remain disconnected from mainstream society if the streams flowing near them are flooded after heavy rains. As many as 78 of these villages are situated in Utnoor revenue division, while 55 habitations can be found in Adilabad division. Ambulances have been kept ready for shifting the women from the villages to nearby health centres.

Meanwhile, the district has currently 7,915 pregnant women. Of them, 885 women are expected to give birth to babies in the month of July. As many as 1,155 women are going to deliver babies in August, 1,316 women in September and 1,335 women in October. Awareness is being created among the women over utilizing services and facilities of the government.

The authorities of the department believe that pregnant women residing in these settlements can now easily deliver babies with the advent of birth waiting rooms. This would also bring down mortality risks, they said.