Punjab to set up midwifery led care units at public healthcare facilities

Chandigarh, October 12, 2023: With an aim to provide the best possible maternal and newborn healthcare services in the state as desired by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Government is all set to establish Midwifery Led Care Units (MLCU) at the public healthcare facilities soon.

Disclosing this here Thursday, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh said that MLCUs will be established to promote natural birthing as WHO has also proposed an ideal rate for deliveries through caesarean (C-section) between 10% and 15%. Presently, this rate is quite high, he added.

An MLCU is already operational in Mata Kaushalya Hospital, Patiala on a pilot basis, he said, while adding that a total of 138 normal births have been facilitated by Midwives in the labour room and Midwifery led birthing unit till date.

Dr Balbir Singh informed that Health Department has set up a Midwifery Training Institute in Patiala to expand this programme throughout the state. This institute has been set up as per the Indian government's “Guidelines on Midwifery Services in India” to prioritize investment in a dedicated cadre of professional midwives, through bringing in a new cadre – the Nurse Practitioner in Midwifery (NPM). In this institute, training would be provided to Midwifery Educators who, in turn, would develop the cadre of NPM.    

The Health Minister said that this initiative will lead to a compassionate and respectful birth experience for a pregnant woman in government health facilities. NPM will provide skilled, maternal, reproductive and newborn child-related healthcare services in a respectful manner to accomplish the sustainable development goals for maternal and newborn well-being.

Underlining the importance of midwifery, Director Health Services (Family Welfare) Dr Hitinder Kaur said that all across the world midwifery plays a critical role in providing childbirth care. All normal uncomplicated deliveries in Punjab will be handled by trained midwives and this will certainly help in decongesting higher level of healthcare facilities, she added.

State Programme Officer (Maternal and Child Health) Dr Inderdeep Kaur said that the National Midwifery Training Institute at Patiala will serve as model teaching institute and pedagogic resource centre for the midwifery training for several states. New cadre of NPM will play pivotal role in curbing the overwhelming prevalence of C-sections and providing respectful maternity care.