THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Concerned over the high number of home births employing unscientific methods and the recent death of a woman in such an incident in Malappuram, the health department is exploring legal options to curb the practice. As per official data, the state reported 382 home births in the 11 months since April 2024.
Health Minister Veena George convened a meeting of the Rapid Response Team on Tuesday to discuss potential penal actions under the Kerala Public Health Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. “District Medical Officers (DMOs) have been instructed to file culpable homicide charges against families if a woman dies due to complications from a home birth. This should serve as a deterrent,” the minister told TNIE.
Veena voiced serious concern over the role of acupuncture in complicating such births and vowed to clamp down on unscientific practices. “People have the constitutional right to choose their treatment.
But acupuncture is not a medical treatment; it is merely a care procedure. Those practising it are not licensed medical professionals. If it is offered as a treatment, we will take strict action,” she said.
Veena has also directed DMOs to make full use of the Kerala Public Health Act to counter misleading social media content that promotes unsafe and illegal practices.
The rise in home births poses a threat to Kerala’s hard-won success in maternal and infant health, Veena said. While India’s maternal mortality rate stands at 97 per 1 lakh live births, Kerala has reduced it to just 19. Between April last year and February this year, the state recorded 2,94,058 births, of which 382 occurred at home, she said.
In 2024 alone, the department linked 17 stillbirths and 12 neonatal deaths to home births.
Mother and baby entitled to proper medical care: Expert
The minister has directed the officers to file a report on the analysis of home births in the recent years by Friday.
The health department plans to highlight these figures in its campaign on the risks of unsafe childbirth practices. The new measures are also aimed at supporting doctors tackling the issue on the ground.
Dr K Pratibha, a medical officer at Thanur family health centre (FHC) in Malappuram, welcomed the crackdown and said legal action is essential. “Both the mother and baby are entitled to proper medical care. A mother cannot unilaterally decide that a home birth is sufficient if it puts the baby’s health at risk. The government has a responsibility to protect both lives,” she said.
In a single month in 2023, Dr Pratibha, while posted at Thanaloor FHC, dealt with 17 home birth cases. Frustrated by the ecosystem that enables such practices, she escalated the issue to the government and eventually approached the High Court seeking intervention.
Home Births in Kerala over the years
2019-20 -467
2020-21 - 576
2021-22 - 586
2022-23 - 579
2023-24 -523
2024-25 -382
(till February)
(Source Health Dept)
