Meghalaya: Transit home for expecting mothers inaugurated under Safe Motherhood Scheme

The state government of Meghalaya on October 11 inaugurated a transit home for expecting mothers through the CM’s Safe Motherhood Scheme.

Notably, the transit home has been inaugurated at Pdengshakap PHC under the Amlarem C&RD block with a prime focus on increasing institutional deliveries and reducing the Maternal Mortality Rate in Meghalaya.

Taking to his micro-blogging site Twitter the chief minister wrote, "A great example of #WomenSupportingWomen as our women-led SHG through members of the Saiñdur Village Organisation will actively involve themselves in making the Transit Home functional."

The Scheme will have the following components and will come into effect from the financial year 2022:

A. Mobility support to the ANMs:  

Suitable vehicles will be hired from the local taxi operators/owners of private vehicles in addition to RBSK vehicles to support the ANMs in villages to ensure that the Village Health and Nutrition Days (VHNDs) are organized in every village at least once every month for ensuring 100 per cent quality ante Natal Check-ups (ANCs) of all pregnant women for taking all preventive steps to address high-risk factors associated with pregnancy. 

B. Dedicated Maternity Care vehicles at PHCs / CHCs: 

Suitable vehicles/community ambulances will be hired from the local taxi operators/owners of private vehicles and will be stationed at the PHC/CHC on a 24 x 7 basis to transport pregnant women without any cost to the mothers from villages to PHCs/CHCs to enhance the rate of institutional deliveries. This component will particularly focus on the pregnant women belonging to identified priority groups, namely, high-risk pregnant women and pregnant women belonging to hard-to-reach and inaccessible villages. 

C. Transit homes for pregnant women: 

Self Help Groups/Local entrepreneurs, wherever possible will be mobilized to arrange suitable boarding and lodging facilities (to be used as transit homes) around the PHCs/CHCs, so that the pregnant women belonging to the above-mentioned priority groups can be brought to these facilities, at least one week to ten days before the expected date of delivery (EDD).

D. Compensation for time spent by attendants and Traditional Birth attendants (TBAs):  

Basic livelihood compensation will be provided to attendants as well as TBAs for bringing high-risk pregnant women to transit homes. Wage compensation will be provided to the attendants, who may be a family member or a traditional birth attendant accompanying or staying with a pregnant woman.