GUNTUR: Collective efforts of the State government have helped in significantly decreasing the maternal deaths and under-five deaths in Andhra Pradesh.
According to the officials of medical and health departments, the number of maternal deaths have reduced to 409 in the year 2022-23, when compared to the year 2014-15, where the number of deaths were soaring 691. The current year has reported 279 maternal deaths so far with Alluri Sithrama Raju district reporting 21 deaths, followed by Anantapur reporting 19 deaths.
According to the officials, the appointment of gynaecologists at primary health centres, and the availability of the latest equipment, including ultrasound scanning machines and radiologists made a big difference. As all facilities are available in their village at free of cost, pregnant women in rural areas who cannot afford regular checkups, travel to nearby towns and villages. Along with this, the prevention of child marriages and female education has also contributed to the decline in maternal deaths.
The progress is not limited to maternal health, as child mortality rates have also seen a sharp decline in the State. As many as 8,433 under-five deaths have been reported in 2019-20, which reduced to 5,245 in 2023-24 so far.
Dr Anil Kumar, Additional Director, Mother and Child Health said that the government has implemented several measures to enhance maternal and child health care in the State. “In a bid to reduce the financial burden on families, the government has been providing allowances for deliveries, which take place in government hospitals. The State government has introduced the Jagananna Asara scheme, which offers a combination of cash assistance and post-delivery care,” he said.
He further added that with an initiative to provide holistic benefits to improve mother and child health care, the Take Home Ration scheme to provide nutritious food to pregnant women and lactating mothers through Anaganwadi centres as Sampoorna Poshana Kendras, and sampoorna poshana plus centres is reaping rich benefits.
The Jagananna Talli Bidda Express vehicle facility provides post-delivery care to women, to drop the mother and child at their residence, he informed.
The government has been actively encouraging mothers to opt for institutional deliveries, ensuring that they give birth in healthcare facilities with the assistance of medical professionals. As a result, the percentage of institutional deliveries increased from 35% in 2019-20 to 46% in 2023-24.
As many as 4.11 lakh institutional deliveries have been reported in 2023-24 so far, with Kurnool recording the highest number of 31,416 in the State, followed by Anantapur, and Tirupati which recorded 23,557, and 22,123 institutional deliveries respectively.
Guntur GGH superintendent Dr Kiran Kumar opined that in the recent days, due to changing lifestyles such as late pregnancies and increasing IVF births, pregnant women are suffering various complications while giving birth. “In order to save the lives of both mother and the baby, C-section is opted under specific circumstances,” he added.
