CHENNAI: The state government will soon make home-based deliveries and deliveries conducted outside medical institutions punishable, Health Minister KG Arunraj said in the Assembly on Monday.
Making the announcement during the Demand for Grants discussion for his department, Arunraj said the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939, was 87 years old and had become outdated. The minister said the government would introduce a new Tamil Nadu Public Health Act to address contemporary and emerging health challenges.
The proposed legislation will include a provision to make home births outside hospitals a punishable offence, the minister said. The announcement was the first of 115 made for the health department during the discussion.
Health Secretary Darez Ahamed said the new Act would be introduced soon. However, an amendment specifically dealing with home deliveries would also be moved separately in the meantime, as action was required at the earliest.
The issue has come under scrutiny following a recent case in Coimbatore. In June, Sasikala, 32, of Punjai Thalaivipalayam near Uthukuli, died at a private hospital four days after delivering her second baby at home.