(a) whether six lakh still-births take place in India every year
according to the information released by Lancet;
(b) if so, the details thereof and reaction of the Government
thereto; and
(c) the details of improvement planned for obstetrics care in
the country?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI SUDIP BANDYOPADHYAY)
(a) &(b) : The Lancet Series on still births, April, 2011 has
given estimates of a still birth rate of 22.1 per 1,000 live
births in the year 2009 for India ,which translates into
approximately 5.8 lakh still births in that year.However,
as per the Registrar General of India – Sample Registration
System 2009 (RGI-SRS 2009), the estimates for stillbirth rate
at national level is 8 per 1,000 live births in the year 2009,
which translates into approximately 2.1 lakh stillbirths in the
same year.
(c): Under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and within
its umbrella the Reproductive and Child Health Programme Phase
II, many interventions have been launched to improve the quality
of obstetric care for the mothers in the country and these
include the following :
# Promotion of institutional deliveries through Janani Suraksha
Yojana.
# Capacity building of health care providers in basic and comprehensive
obstetric care.
# Operationalisation of sub-centres, Primary Health Centres,Community
Health Centres and District Hospitals for providing 24x7 basic and
comprehensive obstetric care services.
# Name Based Tracking of Pregnant Women to ensure antenatal,
intranatal and postnatal care.
# Mother and Child Protection Card in collaboration with the
Ministry of Women and Child Development to monitor service
delivery for mothers and children.
# Antenatal, Intranatal and Postnatal care including Iron and
Folic Acid supplementation to pregnant & lactating women for
prevention and treatment of anemia.
# Engagement of more than 800,000 Accredited Social Health
Activists (ASHAs) to generate demand and facilitate accessing
of health care services by the community.
# Village Health and Nutrition Days in rural areas as an outreach
activity, for provision of maternal and child health services.
# Health and nutrition education to promote dietary diversification,
inclusion of iron and folate rich food as well as food items that
promote iron absorption.
# A new initiative namely Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK)
has been launched on 1st June, 2011, which entitles all pregnant
women delivering in public health institutions to absolutely free
and no expense delivery including Caesarean section.The initiative
stipulates free drugs, diagnostics, blood and diet, besides free
transport from home to institution, between facilities in case of
a referral and drop back home.