BERHAMPUR: Strategies used by the Health and Family Welfare department for screening and monitoring of pregnancy in Ganjam district have failed to yield the desired result. As per records, as many as 15,250 out of 44,409 pregnant women in the district failed to get health check up four times from pregnancy till delivery in the last one year. Collector Vijay Amrit Kulange expressed his displeasure over the management of pregnancy cases and stressed the need for conducting regular health checkups of such women by health workers.
The issue was discussed in a review meeting of the Health department at Chhatrapur on Friday. Officials said 29,159 pregnant women got their health checkups four times during their pregnancy in the district. Hemoglobin tests were conducted for 27,464 such women. Records revealed 38,326 institutional deliveries were conducted at health centres which is 66 per cent of the target. As many as 529 deliveries were conducted in the women’s houses.
The number of institutional deliveries was comparatively low in Khallikote, Digapahandi, Jagannathprasad, and Kukudakhandi Community Health Centres (CHCs). Similarly, registration of pregnant ladies went down in CHCs at Ganjam, Purushottampur, Chatrapur, Sorada, Beguniapada and Jagannathprasad blocks.
As many as 6,327 infants were born underweight and maximum number of such cases were reported from Jagannathprasad, Bhanjanagar and urban areas of Berhampur. Immunization of children too remains at only 74 per cent of the target.The Collector suggested providing certificates and kits to every woman opting for institutional delivery. He asked officials concerned to chalk out a plan to properly distribute 3, 53,323 medicated mosquito nets among pregnant women.
Clinics conducting ultrasound tests in violation of Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC&PNDT) Act were warned of stringent action. “Strict implementation of PC&PNDT Act is necessary to prevent misuse of ultrasound machines for sex determination tests,” Kulange said. Records state that sex ratio in the district was 937 girls per 1,000 boys as per 2011 census. It is lower than the State average of 941 girls per 1,000 boys. The meeting was attended by CDMO, Ganjam Dr Bijay Kumar Panigrahi, Additional CDMO Dr Abani Kumar Patra, District Social Welfare Officer Manorama Reddy and others.
Strategy failure
15,250 out of 44,409 pregnant women in the district failed to get health check up four times from pregnancy till delivery
Hemoglobin tests conducted for 27,464 pregnant women
Institutional deliveries were conducted at 38,326 health centres which is 66 per cent of the target