In case you are in an emergency situation and looking for an ambulance service, call 102 or 108 right away!
Labor pain is one of the most severe pains which has ever been evaluated and yet scenes of a woman in labor being carried to hospital in a public transport like rickshaw or even a bullock cart is “normal” in rural India. If this wasn’t enough, the worst part is most of the families still choose home birth over institutional deliveries. If anyone near the woman can perform basic first aid before the ambulance arrives in case of any emergency
What is home birth?
A home birth is when the childbirth is carried out in a non-clinical setup using the traditional and natural birth methods. The setup is mostly the house of the pregnant woman and attended by elderly women (midwives) who lack the medical expertise to handle the complexities that a childbirth can develop. Also, the critical healthcare amenities and equipment required are unavailable which is provided in a clinical setup.
Statistics on maternal mortality rate in India
Childbirth is complex and requires professional attention and care. Home birth can be life threatening for both mother and the baby. As per a recent study, India’s maternal death accounted for 17% of such deaths globally!
Our Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) stood at 122 per 100,000 live births during the period 2015-16. While there was a significant decline from the 215 figure that was reported in 2010, still about five women died every hour from complications developed during childbirth. The risk of delivery at home is far too high. The first step to prevent such complication and death is to spread awareness and give First Aid training to tackle such situation.
Why is home birth common in rural India?
Every mother wants to ensure the safety of her baby and herself during a delivery. Unfortunately, not every woman is privileged enough to get access to professional medical care. There are two most common reasons why home birth is still so common.
- Unable to afford medical care or are unable to access it. This makes home birth a default option rather than a choice.
- Hesitance or shyness to be treated by strangers at the hospital
The need for change: Delivery at hospital
Childbirth brings not just physical pain, but also traumas, psychological fears, and postpartum depression. A woman requires professional care and gentle guidance to deal with these problems.
The key to a country’s progress lies in reducing its maternal and child mortality and morbidity. Over the years, the Government of India has successfully taken many initiatives, and the improved health indicators are a result of that. India recorded a steep decline in MMR in 2016-18, dropping the rate to 113. The National Health Mission (NHM) aims to reduce Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Total fertility Rate (TFR) and other indicators.
Enabling women to choose Institutional Delivery
A surge in institutional deliveries was brought in most states through the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) scheme.
Institutional delivery is when the childbirth takes place in a healthcare institution under the overall supervision of trained and competent healthcare professionals where there are more amenities to handle the situation to care for and save the life of the child and mother. While availing this service, proper care is given to the women on the board. As the paramedics and doctors train to deal with the emergency situations.
Keeping in mind the reasons why rural women choose home birth, a support program was designed to become companions in a woman’s journey of motherhood, right from pregnancy to postpartum. To enable institutional deliveries that ensure safety of the mother and the child, awareness campaigns have been drafted with the support of 108 helpline services and Asha workers. One needs to be given first aid training as emergency situations can strike anytime.
As per the program, every district employs an Asha worker who captures the census of expecting mothers. The Asha worker also plays the role of a “companion” of the expecting mother throughout the pregnancy and postpartum period, they also give first aid training to the women’s. Routine visits to inquire about their health, educating the women about pregnancy and delivery, registering at a medical institution, accompanying during doctor visits and also during delivery are the support that Asha workers extend to the expecting mother. This has greatly helped to make the women comfortable throughout the period to visit a medical healthcare institution.
Janani-Shishu Suraksha Katyakram (JSSK) , launched in 2011, has further strengthened maternal health initiatives by entitling free deliveries and Caesarean-Sections to every pregnant woman coming for deliveries at government health facilities. Private organization’s such as Ziqitza HealthCare Limited aid the government to provide 102 Ambulance Services to pregnant women and their newborns in Public Private Partnership.
Ziqitza’s 102 and 108 Ambulance Services
Ziqitza provides free 102/ 108 Ambulance Services across 5 states in India, namely Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim and Jharkhand. We are proud that Ziqitza has served over 8 million pregnant women in the last decade of its operation!
These ambulance services provided by Ziqitza have a team of fully trained professionals, technicians and medical staff well versed with medical equipment on board of the Ambulance so as to introduce necessary medical aid while the expecting mother is being transported to the hospital and back home after the delivery. These ambulances are available for a period of one year from delivery, enabling safe transportation even for infant vaccinations. The services are available for free to ensure easy, comfortable and safe transport – whether for a regular vaccine visit or an emergency scenario.
Pregnancy can give rise to critical surgical and complex medical emergencies that are enhanced as a result of other diseases and conditions. The paramedics in these ambulances are not only trained to handle such situations but also carry out delivery successfully, with assistance by doctors, should the need arise.
Ziqitza has been closely working with Asha workers to educate both women and men in the rural areas on the need for institutional deliveries. Under this campaign, women are introduced to the 108 Ambulances, the medical life support equipment available in them along with the comfort they provide during transit. They are also educated by professional healthcare workers on different health, hygiene and nutritional requirements during pregnancy with first aid training.
In a country like India where maternal mortality is still higher (in spite of unrecorded deaths that occur in households during home birth), the need of the hour is to create awareness regarding available emergency medical services across rural as well as urban sectors. The only solution for this situation is to report such incidents and avail the services such as 102 which are put in place for the citizens. Calling 102 Ambulance Services or 108 Ambulance Services when in need of Emergency Medical Care can save a life!
The Government has now introduced a centralized national helpline number 112 to avoid the confusion of which number to contact in case of an emergency. This system works similar to the United States’ helpline number 911.
