Steps taken for improving maternal and child health in the country

Under National Health Mission (NHM), technical and financial support to the States is given as per the proposals submitted by the States/UTs in the form of Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) based on the requirements, including maternal and child health and state specific innovations, and the approvals are accorded as Record of Proceedings (RoP) to States/UTs.

Further, one of the components of the 12-packages to deliver Comprehensive Primary Healthcare under Ayushman Bharat - Health & Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) scheme is "Care in pregnancy and childbirth" and includes:

• Early diagnosis and registration of pregnancy and issuing of ID number and Mother and Child protection card
• Ensuring four antenatal care checks of high risk pregnancies including screening of Hypertension, Gestational Diabetes, Anaemia, HIV, Hepatitis b, Thyroid Profile for hype- or hyper- thyroidism, syphilis, etc.
• Referral and follow up of the high risk pregnancy cases.
• Counselling regarding care during pregnancy including information about nutritional requirements
• Facilitating institutional delivery and supporting birth planning

The Government has formulated several schemes/ programmes for facilitating check-ups and screening of pregnant women, which are as follows:

• Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) provides assured, dignified, respectful and quality healthcare at no cost and zero tolerance for denial of services for every woman and newborn visiting public health facilities to end all preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
• Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) provides pregnant women a fixed day, free of cost assured and quality antenatal check up by a Specialist/Medical Officer on the 9th day of every month.
• Monthly Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) is an outreach activity at Anganwadi centers for provision of maternal and child care including nutrition in convergence with the ICDS.
• MCP Card and Safe Motherhood Booklet are distributed to the pregnant women for educating them on diet, rest, danger signs of pregnancy, benefit schemes and institutional deliveries.
• Reproductive and child health (RCH) portal is a name-based web-enabled tracking system for pregnant women and new born so as to ensure seamless provision of complete services to them including antenatal care, institutional delivery and post-natal care.
• Outreach camps are provisioned for improving the reach of health care services especially in tribal and hard to reach areas. This platform is used to increase the awareness for the Maternal & Child health services, community mobilization as well as to track high risk pregnancies.

The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

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MV

HFW/Maternal and Child health in the country /29^thJuly 2022/8