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News/Event Item
Maternal Health Services Lacking in UP
July 2, 2008
First it was Nankai, who delivered a still born in Mohanlalganj. Then it was Rajdai, Alimun Nisa, Ketaki. The list of pregnant women who suffered when in dire need of medical attention can go on and on. No wonder just 29 percent of women go in for institutional deliveries. This means that of the 54 lakh pregnant women in UP, more than 38 lakh deliver babies in unhealthy conditions.
And it is this gap which no scheme can bridge, believe health activists. "The incidents expose the reality of access to maternal health services at the grassroots level in Uttar Pradesh (UP)," said Shakuntala Joshi, a health activist. Ironically, this happens in a state which reports the highest maternal mortality rate in the country.
Poor maternal health care aggravates the situation. The third 'National Family Health Survey' shows that a whopping 74.7 percent of pregnant women never made three mandatory ante-natal care visits for their last birth. Against this, only 8.7 percent mothers had consumed iron folic acid tablets for 90 days or more. And more than 60 per cent pregnant women are severely anaemic.
The Times of India © 2008 Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd.
For full article, visit:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lucknow/Maternal_health_services_lacking_in_UP/articleshow/3186345.cms
category: News from Other Sources : General Health News
contributed by Liza Nanni on 3 July 2008
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