More than 50 pc of Delhi kids born at home

NEW DELHI: In Delhi, 52 of every 100 babies are delivered at home with the help of untrained midwives, says a state government report on births and deaths. This reflects on the government’s inability to make natal care facilities accessible to the poor.
Delhi has 12 government hospitals that provide such services, but this is grossly insufficient for the 1.37 crore residents of Delhi.
Says Dr Sudha Salhan, head of gynaecology at Safdarjung hospital,‘‘There are very few government-run facilities in the Capital. The hospitals are so crowded that very few people want to access them.’’
Though hospitals don’t turn away patients, there is a complete lack of facilities in the city, say experts.
Says Population Foundation of India’s (PFI) executive director, A R Nanda, who has served as Union secretary for family welfare:‘‘There is no concept of a three-tier health care system in the city. This means too few hospitals for too many needy people.’’
Nanda, a reputed demographer, said the situation is ‘alarming’ as so many have no access to the health care system in the Capital. The government report says as high as 39.4 per cent mothers give birth to babies at home.
‘‘In most cases, deliveries are done by the local dais, who use traditional methods. They use the conventional techniques but are not trained. This increases the risk of death for mothers and newborns,’’ Dr Salhan said.
She added,‘‘In most households, the young mother is not encouraged by the mother-in-law to go to a doctor for a check-up. They still believe that traditional methods are good.’’
Health minister A K Walia said the situation has improved as more hospitals have opened in the past one year.
‘‘The figure must have gone up,’’ he said. There are 30 lakh people staying in JJ clusters and 20 lakh in unauthorised colonies who are unable to access medical facilities from government hospitals.
Acknowledging the government’s failure to provide maternal medical facilities to the poor, experts suggest that training should be imparted to these untrained midwives.
Says Imrana Qadir, professor in JNU’s social medicine department,‘‘These untrained midwives should be trained if the government is unable to provide adequate medical care.’’
‘‘We must teach them how to handle difficult deliveries,’’ Qadir said. Many countries have an ongoing midwife movement where people are going for deliveries at homes instead of hospitals, she said.
Though the idea of training midwives is good, Nanda says it is not prudent for them to handle emergency and complicated procedures.
‘‘They must be handled by qualified medical professionals,’’ he said.