Birth waiting rooms set up to protect tribal pregnant women during monsoon

Women with high-risk pregnancies are moved to these centres at least 10 days before their expected delivery date and are monitored by doctors

Adilabad: Birth waiting rooms have been established across Adilabad district to prevent the deaths of tribal pregnant women who lack access to healthcare during the monsoon, particularly those who have died while being shifted to hospitals.

According to Medical and Health department officials, 13 birth waiting rooms were set up at primary health centres in Ankoli, Bazarhathnoor, Bela, Bheempur, Gudihathnoor, Hasnapur, Jainath, Jhari, Indervelli, Pittabongaram, Shyampur and Sonala mandals to support pregnant women from remote and flood-prone areas. A total of 40 beds have been allocated in these centres.

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Officials said 47 women expected to deliver in July would be accommodated in these centres, while similar arrangements were made for 53 women scheduled for delivery in August. The initiative, introduced in 2020, has shown encouraging results. District Medical and Health Officer Dr Narender Rathod said the birth waiting rooms helped avoid many maternal deaths in tribal areas.

Authorities identified 201 habitations in the district as problematic. These villages often remain cut off from main roads during heavy rains and flooding. Of them, 120 are located in the Utnoor revenue division and 81 in the Adilabad division.

In a worrying trend, 12 pregnant women died during childbirth in the erstwhile Adilabad district in 2020. In 2018, the number of such deaths was 27, while 21 women died during delivery that year as well, according to the Health Department. Many of these deaths were attributed to poor road access and the absence of bridges over rivulets.

To address this, officials launched the birth waiting room initiative in 2020 at Community Health Centres in Boath and Utnoor, as well as at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Adilabad. Women with high-risk pregnancies are moved to these centres at least 10 days before their expected delivery date and are monitored by doctors.

Ambulances have been made available to shift pregnant women from remote villages to nearby health centres. In cases where floodwaters block access, bullock carts are also arranged to transport women from their homes to the health centres.