Healthy timing, spacing between pregnancies crucial for women's health: MoS Patel

Adequately spaced pregnancies can significantly improve maternal and child health outcomes, Union Minister Anupriya Patel said on Friday, underlining that this also reduces risks and empowers women to make informed choices about their reproductive health. "The government's efforts have resulted in reduction of maternal mortality from over 130 to 97 per one lakh births," the minister of state for health said and also highlighted the efforts taken by states to involve men in family planning.

Patel held a meeting with public health experts as part of a series of programmes to observe the World Population Day. The theme of the meeting was "Reaching the Last Mile for Ensuring Healthy Timing and Spacing between Pregnancies: Issues and Challenges."

The minister said the government has always been conscious of these issues.

"The launch of initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), extended PMSMA, identification of high-risk pregnancy in PMSMA, Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyan and the Post-Partum Family Planning Programme (Post-Partum IUCD and Post Abortion IUCD) are some examples of the government's commitment to the cause," she said.

Patel also underscored the importance of an effective communication strategy.

"The task of achieving Viksit Bharat (developed India) by 2047 cannot be done without empowering our women. Healthy timing and spacing between pregnancies are very important for women's health," she said.

Additional Secretary and Mission Director NHM at the health ministry, Aradhana Patnaik, highlighted that India has already achieved a total fertility rate (TFR) of two with 31 states and Union territories achieving the replacement level.

There is a need for an effective strategy to bring the TFR under replacement level in the remaining five states, the minister said.

Patel said that "we would be able to reach the last mile" by empowering the youth, addressing challenges of equal participation of men and women, increasing couple communication, learning from best practices, taking cues from current and historical trends in family planning data and expanding the contraceptive basket of choices.

She also stressed on identifying and mapping regions, districts, and blocks with data of issues such as low uptake of family planning services, low demand for modern contraceptives and high unmet needs, and saturating them with services and enhanced social and behaviour change communication.