India has long recognized the critical importance of maternal and child health as a cornerstone of public health.
One of the pivotal frameworks addressing these concerns is the National Health Mission (NHM), which encompasses various programs specifically targeting the health of mothers and children.
While there isn't a singular program titled "National Health Intervention Programme for Mother and Child," the NHM, along with its two sub-missions—the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM)—encompasses several initiatives and schemes directly aimed at improving maternal and child health outcomes.
These interventions are designed to address the health needs of mothers and children through a comprehensive approach.
Below, I'll detail the objectives, components, services for mothers, and the importance of these interventions in the context of India.
Principal Objectives:
1. Improve Maternal Health:
Reduce maternal mortality by ensuring that comprehensive and professional antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, and postnatal care are accessible to all mothers.
2. Enhance Child Health:
Reduce infant and child mortality rates through better healthcare facilities, immunization, and disease management.
3. Promote Family Planning:
Encourage responsible family planning practices to stabilize the population growth rate.
4. Nutritional Support:
Address malnutrition among pregnant and lactating mothers, infants, and young children.
5. Accessible Healthcare:
Provide accessible healthcare services in rural, remote, and underserved regions through a strengthened healthcare infrastructure.
Components
1. Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY):
A safe motherhood intervention under the NHM that aims to reduce neonatal and maternal mortality by promoting institutional delivery among poor pregnant women.
2. Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK):
Ensures free delivery and care for pregnant women and free treatment for sick infants up to one year of age in Government health institutions.
3. Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS):
Though not exclusively under NHM, it works closely with it to provide supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-ups, and referral services for children under 6 years and pregnant and lactating mothers.
4. Mission Indradhanush:
Targets immunization against seven vaccine-preventable diseases.
5. Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA):
Provides assured, comprehensive, and quality antenatal care, free of cost, universally to all pregnant women on the 9th of every month.
Key Activities:
1. Antenatal and Postnatal Care:
Regular health check-ups, monitoring, and education for expecting and new mothers.
2. Safe Delivery Practices:
Ensuring institutional deliveries with skilled birth attendants to reduce risks during childbirth.
3. Immunization Programs:
Comprehensive immunization for children against major childhood diseases under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP).
4. Nutrition Programs:
Programs like the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) which provide supplementary nutrition and health education.
5. Training Healthcare Professionals:
Training and capacity building for ASHAs, ANMs, and other healthcare workers to provide effective maternal and child healthcare services.
Services for Mother
1. Antenatal Care (ANC):
Regular check-ups that allow doctors to treat and prevent potential health problems throughout the course of the pregnancy while promoting healthy lifestyles that benefit both mother and child.
2. Institutional Deliveries:
Encouragement and support for delivering in hospitals or health care centers to reduce the risk of complications.
3. Postnatal Care (PNC):
Care provided to the mother and her newborn immediately after birth and during the first six weeks post-delivery to ensure their health and wellbeing.
Importance
1. Reduction in Mortality Rates:
These programs aim directly at reducing maternal and child mortality rates, which are crucial indicators of a country's health status.
2. Improved Access to Healthcare:
By providing essential health services free of cost or at a subsidized rate, these interventions have significantly increased access to healthcare services for the most vulnerable sections of society.
3. Nutritional Support:
Through supplementary nutrition programs, the nutritional status of mothers and children, especially in the critical 1000-day window from pregnancy to the child's second birthday, has improved.
4. Disease Prevention:
Immunization programs have been pivotal in reducing morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases among children and mothers.
5. Awareness and Education:
These programs also play a critical role in educating mothers about nutritional needs, hygiene practices, and the importance of regular health check-ups, thus empowering them to make informed health decisions for themselves and their children.
The collective impact of these interventions is profound, contributing to healthier generations and the overall socioeconomic development of India by improving the health of mothers and children.
