Chennai Corporation asks pregnant women to register on PICME database

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation has asked pregnant women to register their maternity period particulars on the state health department's Pregnancy Infant Cohort Monitoring and Evaluation (PICME) database by visiting the nearest urban primary health centre or government hospitals and medical college hospitals.Registration on PICME was made mandatory in January 2018. An objective of the public health department's Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) scheme, PICME registration has helped bring down maternal mortality ratio as the government is able to monitor health of pregnant women registered on the database. Periodic reminders via SMS is sent to pregnant women and helps with their prenatal and postnatal care. Registration also allows pregnant women to be eligible for government schemes like the Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy maternity incentive. Maternity details can be recorded by dialling the maternity and child health helpline number 102, by visiting the nearest e-Seva service centre or by logging on to the PICME website. A pre-registration number can be obtained. Subsequently, an urban health nurse would visit the pregnant woman and issue an RCH ID card bearing a 12-digit code, said a corporation statement.Since March, the government issues birth certificates only to women with the RCH ID. Women visiting private health centres and hospitals for maternity check-ups too must have registered on the PICME website. Pregnant women who return to native villages or towns must inform the urban health nurse prior to leaving Chennai. "The urban health nurse will relay the maternity particulars to the concerned urban or village health nurse to ensure care is uninterrupted," the statement said.The statement added that queries related to PICME registration may be sent to picmehelpdesk@gmail.com.