The Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) on Saturday announced to launch a fast track initiative for reducing the maternal mortality rate (MMR) from April.
The initiative, ‘Helping mothers survive’, will train frontline healthcare personnel from obstetricians to doctors at the peripheral PHCs, CHCs, nurses, paramedics to ANMs and Asha workers on safe delivery mechanisms.
It will be implemented in association with Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynaecology and Obstetrics (JHPIEGO) and Association of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Orissa (AOGO). The programme will focus on prevention of delivery-related complications like post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) and pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, which are the leading causes of maternal mortality in the country. PPH accounts for around 20 per cent of MMR.
Doctors, healthcare personnel and health workers at the grassroots would be trained to recognise early signs of complications and ensure proper handling and treatment in such cases. Prompt detection and timely intervention will result in saving a lot of lives, FOGSI president Dr Hema Divakar said during the annual conference of AOGO here.
“We have devised an innovative model of stimulated birth called Mammanatalle to provide hands-on training to frontline healthcare personnel to identify situation and prevent deaths,” Dr Divakar stated.
The initiative has been launched in the South and West and is set to be introduced in the Eastern states. Under the programme, first a set of master trainers would be trained, who in turn would impart training at the grassroots and community level. In Odisha, about 20 master trainers would receive the training in April. The aim is to ensure that at least 150 teams of healthcare personnel are equipped with the knowledge and skills within the first year, FOGSI vice-president, East, Dr Jayant Rath said. Nationally, the target is to reach out to one lakh such teams in five years as the largest body of obstetricians and gynaecologists seeks to involve the Governments in the initiative from the second year. FOGSI will also extend the programme to other Asian countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Besides, the programme will generate awareness on teenage pregnancies, which are a major contributor to maternal deaths in the State. Though the marriageable age is 18, pregnancies at the age are fraught with risks such as anaemia, hypertension, restricted growth and difficult labour.
“According to our practical experience, more than 10 per cent of all women undergoing delivery in hospitals are in age group of 19 to 20. FOGSI and AOGO will start an intense campaign to educate people on the issue,” Dr Divakar said.