Reflections on safe motherhood

More appropriate way to observe National Safe Motherhood Day could be to initiate discussions with adolescent boys and girls about safe childbirth

I didn’t know there was such a thing, but apparently April 11 is National Safe Motherhood Day. It has been observed since 2013 when the government decided to commemorate the anniversary of Kasturba Gandhi. In states like Uttar Pradesh, which have traditionally had some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country, a lot has been done to make deliveries safer. Local hospitals have been upgraded, pregnant women are monitored and given iron and folic acid supplements and in rural areas, women are being incentivised to have institutional deliveries instead of giving birth at home. Yet, field experiences in