6 Parsi couples in Mumbai conceive after Centre funds their infertility treatment
The six couples are the first batch from the community to be provided medical assistance by the Centre, as part of the Jiyo Parsi scheme launched last year to boost population of Parsis.
The dwindling Parsi community is celebrating a major ‘achievement’. The six Parsi couples in Mumbai -- who are the first batch of couples from the community to receive funds from the Centre for infertility treatment -- have conceived and the community is now expecting at least seven babies this year itself.
As little as it may sound, every new birth excites the community whose numbers are dwindling dangerously.
With a funding of Rs 10 crore over a four-year period, Parsi couples having trouble conceiving can undergo invitro fertilisation, artificial insemination, and other infertility treatments, and also get the treatment cost reimbursed.
The Parsi community boasts of the highest literacy rate and sex ratio in India, but the community has just about 70,000 members. The city’s Parsi population is estimated to be merely 45,000 - that’s just about same as the population of Sanpada – one of Navi Mumbai’s smallest residential zones.
Pandole, who practices at Jaslok Hospital, said that she was hopeful that more couples will come forward to enrol in the Jiyo Parsi scheme. Dr Niloufer Shroff from the Parzor Foundation, a project to preserve Parsi-Zoroastrian heritage that implements the ‘Jiyo Parsi’ scheme, said: “The Parsi population pattern is an inverted pyramid, the top being a majority of elderly people, and the bottom with very few children. We want the community to know that there is a problem that needs to be addressed urgently.”
Dr Katy Gandevia, a Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) professor who co-ordinates with the couples for the Jiyo Parsi scheme, said that the community’s dwindling population has been attributed to late marriages, not marrying, fertility issues and marrying outside the community.
According to the 2001 Census, the number of Parsis declined by about 12 per cent each decade since 1941, and the community has an extremely worrisome birth- death ratio, with merely 200 births annually as compared 800 deaths.
Yesterday, under the Jiyo Parsi scheme, the first advocacy workshop for the Parsi couples was held at Dadar, where aspects such as stress and anger management, managing conflicts, communication skills, sexuality and infertility issues were discussed.
Pandole, who spoke to around 10 couples at the workshop, said: “There are several misconceptions about infertility treatment. Most couples fear having babies with congenital defects, women worry about the pain they will have to bear, and obviously the success rate. Through this workshop, we tried to educate the individuals and motivate them to seek treatment.”
JIYO PARSI, A WELCOME INITIATIVE
The Ministry of Minority Affairs launched Jiyo Parsi scheme in September 2013. Implemented by the Parzor Foundation, the scheme offers funding up to Rs 10 crore for a span of four years to Parsi couples seeking infertility treatment. It is first such government-funded scheme in the world aimed at increasing population of a particular community.
The Parsis have more middle-aged and elderly population, a demographic profile similar to developed countries. Studies revealed that about 31 per cent Parsis in India are above 60 years, and more than 30 per cent of the community never married.
The dwindling Parsi community is celebrating a major ‘achievement’. The six Parsi couples in Mumbai -- who are the first batch of couples from the community to receive funds from the Centre for infertility treatment -- have conceived and the community is now expecting at least seven babies this year itself.
As little as it may sound, every new birth excites the community whose numbers are dwindling dangerously.
“For us, every newborn in the community is a step ahead. So far, we have six beneficiary couples who have conceived, and one of them is even expecting twins,” said gynaecologist Dr Anahita Pandole, who is in-charge of the Central government’s Jiyo Parsi scheme that was announced last September (see below).
With a funding of Rs 10 crore over a four-year period, Parsi couples having trouble conceiving can undergo invitro fertilisation, artificial insemination, and other infertility treatments, and also get the treatment cost reimbursed.
The Parsi community boasts of the highest literacy rate and sex ratio in India, but the community has just about 70,000 members. The city’s Parsi population is estimated to be merely 45,000 - that’s just about same as the population of Sanpada – one of Navi Mumbai’s smallest residential zones.
Pandole, who practices at Jaslok Hospital, said that she was hopeful that more couples will come forward to enrol in the Jiyo Parsi scheme. Dr Niloufer Shroff from the Parzor Foundation, a project to preserve Parsi-Zoroastrian heritage that implements the ‘Jiyo Parsi’ scheme, said: “The Parsi population pattern is an inverted pyramid, the top being a majority of elderly people, and the bottom with very few children. We want the community to know that there is a problem that needs to be addressed urgently.”
Dr Katy Gandevia, a Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) professor who co-ordinates with the couples for the Jiyo Parsi scheme, said that the community’s dwindling population has been attributed to late marriages, not marrying, fertility issues and marrying outside the community.
According to the 2001 Census, the number of Parsis declined by about 12 per cent each decade since 1941, and the community has an extremely worrisome birth- death ratio, with merely 200 births annually as compared 800 deaths.
Yesterday, under the Jiyo Parsi scheme, the first advocacy workshop for the Parsi couples was held at Dadar, where aspects such as stress and anger management, managing conflicts, communication skills, sexuality and infertility issues were discussed.
Pandole, who spoke to around 10 couples at the workshop, said: “There are several misconceptions about infertility treatment. Most couples fear having babies with congenital defects, women worry about the pain they will have to bear, and obviously the success rate. Through this workshop, we tried to educate the individuals and motivate them to seek treatment.”
JIYO PARSI, A WELCOME INITIATIVE
The Ministry of Minority Affairs launched Jiyo Parsi scheme in September 2013. Implemented by the Parzor Foundation, the scheme offers funding up to Rs 10 crore for a span of four years to Parsi couples seeking infertility treatment. It is first such government-funded scheme in the world aimed at increasing population of a particular community.
The Parsis have more middle-aged and elderly population, a demographic profile similar to developed countries. Studies revealed that about 31 per cent Parsis in India are above 60 years, and more than 30 per cent of the community never married.
