HYDERABAD: “Moms to have the right to have a companion in the delivery room. She should not be left alone the delivery room in the company of strangers. Birth Companions give her psychological support which she needed in the labor room. Women trust her companion, “ said Dr. Evita Fernandez at the TEDx Hyderabad Women 2018 Meet held at Wells Fargo office in Rayadurgam on Sunday. Dr. Evita is the Managing Director and Senior Consultant Obstetrician at 70 years old, Fernandez Hospital the premier speciality Hospital for women and newborns.
She was among the three speakers who addressed two hundred plus attendees at the event. The speakers include: Social Entrepreneur and Gender Advocate Anusha Bharadwaj, Executive Director at VOICE 4 Girls ; Sanjay Jesrani, the Founder & CEO of Go North Ventures, an angel investment and advisory firm, focused on investing in and mentoring startups.
The theme of the meet was “Showing Up”. Show up at as right place, right time. And it is a time to showing up together announced Ekta Viivek Verma of the SAHE Foundation, what organized the meet. SAHE(Society for Advancement of Human Endeavour) is a city-based not for profit organization.
Talking to the audience she said, “Doctors are turning natural childbirths into a medical emergencies. C-Sections are rising. We need radical changes in our childbirth practices. Knowingly or unknowingly, willingly or unwillingly, Doctors are leaving a lifetime scar on the body of moms for the rest of their life. Because of these reasons women are afraid of conceiving. A woman doesn’t mind giving birth to a child unassisted at home and take a risk rather than going to hospitals,” she said.
“Nearly 60 million births take place every year. Our government is encouraging hospital births. The country must invest in professional Midwifery Services. They must be trained to professionally assist natural childbirths. Professional Midwifery service is the backbone for birth delivery service. Moms to be will be safer in the hands of professional midwives,” she stated. Fernandez helped deliver 9,000 women naturally with the help of Professional Midwifery Service during August 2011 to October 2018, she shared.
The next speaker Angel Investor Sanjay Jesrani said, “Women think that managing finance in the family is not their job, but that of their spouse or male head of their family. But, in reality, women are much better in managing money at every level. Gender Advocate Anusha Bharadwaj, Executive Director at VOICE 4 Girls, who also was among the speakers said, “It is normally believed that girls from good families should not report violence against them.
“Voice wanted to break that science.” India was a home to over 113 million adolescent girls. Only 30% of them graduate from Class 10. Almost 50% are married before the legal age of 18.