Awareness & better medical care vital to reduce maternal mortality rate: Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan

Saifabad: Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on Monday said that awareness about safe motherhood and access to better medical care are vital in reducing the maternal mortality rate (MMR).

She said that awareness about taking balanced and nutritious food, accessing medical help, vaccinations and promoting institutional deliveries are significant factors so as to bring down the maternal mortality rate.

The Governor, through a virtual mode from Raj Bhavan, was speaking on importance of maternal health and child care as part of the "Safe Motherhood Week and Child Care celebrations" organised by the IMA Tamil Nadu.

Expressing anguish over the spurt in maternal mortality during the Covid pandemic, Dr. Tamilisai stated that no pregnant woman should be denied of hospital admission or medical help under the pretext of Covid.

"Many instances of denying hospital admission to pregnant women resulting in their death are really inhuman. Hospitals must give top priority to extend necessary medical help to all pregnant women on a priority basis," she added.

The Governor called for concerted efforts by all stakeholders in reducing the maternal mortality rate to 90 per One Lakh live births, as per the sustainable developmental goals in the country. "Though the country made significant progress in reducing MMR, still we are witnessing a large number of deaths when compared to developed countries. We must give the best possible medical care to women," she added.

Dr. Tamilisai emphasised the need for care for women even before conception, during pregnancy, during delivery and after child birth.

"Nutrition, medical care like regular check up, follow-up, institutional deliveries will considerably reduce the preventable the maternal mortality," she added. The Governor cited the initiatives, like KCR kit in Telangana, and Sanjeevani in Gujarat that resulted in more institutional deliveries resulting in reduced MMR.

Later, responding to a query during interactive session with medical students, Dr. Tamilisai found fault with the inhuman practice of stigmatising of women for infertility.

"There are many factors that result in infertility. We should not stigmatise anybody for the same," she added.