By Our Reporter
Shillong, Dec 8: The state government has noted with concern that pregnant women in rural areas continue to choose traditional healers for childbirth. To protect the safety of the mother and the child, the state government is currently training and accrediting these healers.
“I feel it is just correct for the department, who have anyway been looking at this important concern of involving the training of dais (mid wives), or the traditional helpers who help deliver the babies at home,” Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said on Friday, following a visit to South West Khasi Hills District where cases of childbirth at the hands of traditional healers are significantly high.
According to Lyngdoh, the department is examining the significant disparity in institutional delivery in South West Khasi Hills.
“We have to start looking at the integration of the traditional practices medicinal practices and we have seen the GOI is concentrating a lot on Ayurveda,” she said, adding that the government cannot deny a citizen the right to choose whether they will give birth at home, in a government facility, or in a private institution.
She claimed that the government has already made contact with conventional healers and practitioners, particularly with regard to childbirth.
“We are now certifying their practices and training the traditional healers with an emphasis on ensuring the mother’s safety,” she stated.
“In fact, in order to address the maternal deaths that were very high at one point in the State, these traditional healers are also being advised to take the high-risk pregnant women to a medical facility that is either run privately or by the government,” she continued.
“We have seen a substantial reduction in maternal deaths today following these interventions,” Lyngdoh continued.
