JOIN USEyeing govt aid, men 'deliver' babies
A probe by the health department into this unusual scenario, however, unearthed a scam at the Gogunda community health centre in Udaipur district where at least 32 men are recorded to have delivered babies.
The auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) at the centre had allegedly provided false details to obtain government aid meant for poor pregnant women under the Centrally-sponsored scheme, Janani Suraksha Yojana.
“Many of them have been mentioned several times in the records,” said the official investigating the incident.
Investigations revealed that one Rekha Bhati, an ANM in Kotda, had allegedly fudged records to claim money under the scheme. The accused is still at large, and no case has been registered against her yet. As per records, one Rooparam got pregnant seven times over the past eight months and received Rs 15,000. The ANM had made entries of 250 deliveries in an year at the centre, the official said.
Records claim that a 60-year-old woman delivered babies twice in a year. Another woman, Sita, is shown to have delivered 24 babies in a year. The ANM has herself claimed to have delivered 11 babies in a year, the officer said.
Ironically, a couple of months ago, the health department was all praise for the ANM's efforts in increasing the number of institutional deliveries in the Kotda health sub-centre. Over the past few months, 50-60 institutional deliveries took place every month. It was during an inspection the discrepancies in the records were revealed.
The scheme aims to reduce the number of maternal and neonatal deaths among pregnant women below poverty line, above 19 years of age and up to two live births.
It integrates help in the form of cash with antenatal care during the pregnancy period, institutional care during delivery as well as immediately after delivery.
Under the scheme, Rs 1,700 is given to the woman on child delivery while the midwife gets about Rs 200.