Despite commitments toprovide free antenatal care, basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care, and postnatal care, Indian authorities have not done enough to review existing schemes to ensure that they address the real health needs of women and girls. There are recurrent gaps in the provision of maternal health care, gaps that would not exist if policies were being implemented effectively. These include barriers to emergency care, poor referral practices, gaps in continuity of care, and improper demands for payment as a condition for delivery of healthcare services.
Most importantly, there is poor access to emergency obstetric care - The vast majority of women in rural India have poor access to emergency obstetric care that could save their lives, including blood transfusions and cesarean sections. Women with pregnancy complications such as hemorrhage, obstructed labor, and eclampsia are often in need of such life-saving care. First referral units that are supposed to be equipped with such life-saving facilities have existed on paper for years, even before the NRHM (National Rural Health Commission) was operationalized. Since mid-2005, basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care are covered by the NRHM service guarantees. Yet, there has been little or no improvement in women's access to and utilization of such care in many parts of India, indicating a serious lapse in accountability.
This and many other glaring issues violate basic right of women and girls across rural India. We need to wake up and ensure that our Government is accountable for these serious lapses in their policies towards maternity care, and post-natal care for mothers and children.
