Shillong, Jun 29: The Ri-Bhoi district administration has ordered all traditional birth attendants in the district to stop conducting home delivery of pregnant mothers and also to stop handling cases clinically identified as High Risk Pregancies (HRP).
In a statement issued today, the district administration said that under the Meghalaya government’s MOTHER Policy, ensuring the safety of pregnant women and babies through institutional delivery is a “paramount public mandate”.
“Attempting to manage obstetric emergencies – such as severe anemia, high blood pressure, prolonged labour or previous cesarean sections – in a home setting without emergency medical infrastructure poses an immediate and direct threat to the lives of both the mother and the unborn child, and is strictly against the policy,” the statement said.
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The district administration also asked traditional birth attendants to refuse any request for home delivery and to direct the pregnant mother to contact the local ASHA worker to arrange for emergency transport of such pregnant mother to the nearest government health centre.
Further, the Ri-Bhoi district administration warned unregistered birth attendants against keeping or stocking of restricted allopathic drugs such as Oxytocin to artificially induce labour or control bleeding. Stocking such drugs would lead to three years of imprisonment, it said.
It also warned that traditional birth attendants found administering injections, intravenous fluids, or prescription drugs would be arrested for medical quackery.
The district administration also requested all Rangbah Shnong and village councils to ensure that this warning is fully complied within their respective jurisdictions and to inform the police or any authority regarding any violation.
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