10 child care centres to come up in Punjab

10 new child care and 50 child stabilisation centres will soon come up at various hospitals in the state with Punjab government earmarking Rs 22 crore to improve post natal care facilities, an official said today.
Upgradation of health infrastructure and improvement in mother-child treatment is the main concern for Punjab government and therefore, it has earmarked Rs 22 crore for improving post natal child care facilities in various hospitals of the state, an official spokesperson said here.
With five child care centres already established in the state, he said the government was now planning to bring ten more such centres in the state soon.

"To treat newborn infants in far flung areas of the state, 50 new child stabilisation centres would also be operative in various child care hospitals at district and subdivision and community health centre level," the spokeperson added.
The health department has been successful in bringing down infant mortality rate in Punjab by four digits. The infant mortality rate which was 40 after 1,000 births in 2006 has been lowered at 30 in the year 2011, he claimed.
He said that at present one child care centre is operative in each three medical colleges, one in mother-child hospital, Bathinda and one in Mata Kaushliya Hospital, Patiala

The spokesperson said that the in order to promote the deliveries in hospitals, the Punjab Government has been providing various incentives to expectant mothers.
"The delivery in government hospital is free in all respects like transport, medication and medicines," the spokesman said.