Warangal: Doctors spend the night with to-be-moms'

WARANGAL: The Jayashankar Bhupalapalli district administration has come up with another initiative to draw pregnant women to government hospitals. As part of the campaign, a team of doctors comprising Dr Snigdha, gynecologist from CHC, Chityala, Dr Shruti, medical officer from PHC, Velishala, health supervisor Dr Sathish, IKP coordinator, Manjula, ANMs and Asha workers visited Vencharami village of Tekumatla mandal on Thursday night. The team interacted with the villagers and identified 16 pregnant women who needed medical attention. “We found out that the pregnant women here are in a very bad state due to poverty. They do not even have proper food to eat.

At no other time in life is nutrition as important as before, during, and following pregnancy. We explained to them that if they come to government hospitals, they would be provided proper food, accommodation and treatment free of cost,” said Dr Snigdha. As part of the campaign, Collector Akunuri Murali, set an example for all and admitted his pregnant daughter to a government hospital in Mulugu for her first child. He did this as part of a campaign, Puttintiki ra thalli which he launched to encourage women to go to government hospitals for deliveries across the district.

The campaign succeeded in bringing a change in thoughts of the people. It managed to bring the required change in the interior tribal hamlets. To overcome this hurdle a new campaign was launched again called Garbhini Sthrila intlo rathri basa. “Spending time with these people creates a bond and improves relations. They tell us about their problems, the tablets they are taking and following proper healthy measures. This also gives us a chance to tell them that institutional deliveries are safe and free of cost. They just need to dial 104 for the ambulance to pick them up at their doorstep,” said Dr V. Ravi Praveen Reddy, Medical Superintendent of Chityala CHC. Jayashankar Bhupalapalli district being mostly populated with tribals needs extensive awareness in interior areas where social and religious beliefs matter more to the people.