Over 7 lakh mothers benefited by government’s PMMVY

PUNE: Under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), over seven lakh mothers from rural and urban areas were reported to be benefited. 

Under this scheme, officials noted that more women have registered their pregnancies and completed the Antenatal Care Check-ups (ANC). 

Under this scheme, after completing three check-ups and immunisation, the mother gets Rs 5,000 from the government. Officials also noted there is need for more awareness among mothers in urban areas about this scheme.

Speaking to Sakal Times, Dr Aniruddha Deshpande, Assistant Director, Maternal Health, Public Health Department, said, “It is a regular maternity benefit scheme for pregnant women. In Maharashtra, the implementation of the scheme started in November 2017.  And till March 2019, about 7,75,365 mothers in the State registered under it.”

He said the objective of the scheme is to provide partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child and the cash incentives provided would lead to improved health seeking behaviour among the pregnant women.

“The sum is paid to the mothers in three parts. After their first check-up, the mothers are given Rs 2,000 in their bank accounts. After the second check-up, the same amount is credited. And after the third check-up, there is Rs 1,000 that is credited. The mothers have to compulsorily get the three check-ups done for that,” said Deshpande.

He added that high-risk mothers are identified at an earlier stage and so they have a proactive attitude towards their health as well as their baby’s health.

“Through this scheme, issues like universal screening of pregnant women for anaemia and Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation, calcium supplementation in pregnancy, deworming in pregnancy, weight gain monitoring and counselling on nutrition, family planning and prevention of diseases are addressed,” said Deshpande.

Statistics shared by the Public Health Department indicate that Gondia district has the maximum beneficiaries in the State, followed by Satara and Sangli. The least number of beneficiaries are from Thane, followed by Raigad and Mumbai.

“District with major cities like Pune and Mumbai have the least number of beneficiaries in this scheme. Mumbai has only 35,221 beneficiaries, which is 34 per cent of the expected number. Pune has only 55,263 beneficiaries. There is a dire need for more awareness in the urban sector to ensure that more women come under this scheme and get the benefits,” added Deshpande.