Waghodiya finds a way to fight mother-child malnutrition

Vadodara: Maternal malnutrition and low birth weight have remained a serious health concern in the region, but Waghodiya taluka of the district seems to be finding a way out of the trend.
An intervention by the state government, district collector and Waghodiya-based Dhiraj Hospital has led to a decrease in the number of low birth weight cases.
The programme initiated as an extension of Janani Suraksha Yojna, includes complete medical support for the mother and the child from the first week of pregnancy till the child is a year old.
A team of paediatrics, gynaecologists and dietitians along with a team of social workers and Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers has been made to implement the various stages of the extensive programme.
"Cases of infant mortality is majorly seen in the first month after birth, of which close to 75 per cent deaths happen in the first two days. Low birth weight is the prime cause for this. But, treating a low birth weight infant is like finding a cure for a problem that has already become critical. Through this particular programme, we are trying to treat the root cause and prevent these cases," said Dr Dulari Gandhi, who is heading the paediatric end of the initiative.
The programme, launched in August last year, covers over 3,000 women from Waghodiya, Karjan, Nandesari and Savli.
"Among the deliveries conducted after launching the programme, the cases of birth weight over 2.5kg have increased to slightly over 70 per cent from 40 per cent recorded earlier," added paediatrician Dr Varsha Shah.
The teams dedicated to the programme also conduct regular door-to-door check-ups for expecting mothers and children below the age of one year, to ensure that their condition is monitored at regular intervals and minimize cases of post-natal problems.
"Since a lot of mothers we attend to are either farm workers or casual labourers, they start skipping scheduled check-up appointments in order to not miss out on a day's wage. In such cases, we visit their addresses the next day to bring them to the hospital or conduct a check-up there. For expectant mothers, we visit them as many times as necessary over the scheduled visits, and also send them regular reminders for hospital check-ups," said an ASHA worker Neeta Padhiyar.