GMCH’s maternity care earns national recognition

Aurangabad: The initiative of the Government Medical College and Hospital here on respectful maternity care was selected for presentation at the 5th national summit on ‘Good & replicable practices & innovations in public healthcare systems in India’ held at Kaziranga in Assam from October 31 to November 1.

Shrinivas Gadappa, head of the department of OBGY at the GMCH said it was a proud moment to represent the hospital at the ational level.

The respectful maternity care (RMC) at GMCH Aurangabad is also included in the coffee table book on ‘Good Practices, Evidence to Action: Towards Universal Health Coverage’ released by Union health minister J P Nadda and Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal at Kaziranga.

This book shares the best practices and innovations at various levels of health service delivery and programme implementation under the National Health Mission.

Total of 120 practices and innovations were showcased during the summit.

“The summit became a platform where good practices and innovations in public health system were covered comprehensively and given an opportunity to disseminate all over India,” Gadappa said.

Responding to the development, GMCH dean Kanan Yelikar said respectful maternity is not a choice but it is the right of a woman. She thanked the OBGY team at GMCH, Aurangabad and the National Health Mission for making the programme successful.

The RMC aimed at providing respect, dignity, privacy, care and concern apart from healthcare to labouring women was initiated a year and a half ago at GMCH through joint efforts of the United Nations Population Fund, NGO Cehat, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences and the Directorate of Medical Education and Research. It was included in the UG curriculum as well as in clinical practice.

The RMC included different birthing positions, avoidance of episiotomy if not required, deliveries on the bed itself instead of labour tables and accompanying of birth companions.