Midwifery - India

India

History & Development of Maternal & Child Health Services in India These were started with the help of voluntary organizations. Modern Maternal & Child health work was begin in India by the foreign missionaries with effort to train dais. The historical facts are as follows 1885 : An association for medical aid by the women t the women of India was established by the Countess of Dufferin 1918 : Lady reading Health School was started in Delhi offering helath visitors course. This was another stepping stone in MCH Services 1921 : Lady Chelmsford League was formed in India for developing Maternity & Child welfare services 1931 : The Indian Redcross society established MCH Bureau in association with the Lady Chelmsford League & Victories memorial Scholarship Fund & Co-ordinated the MCH work throughout the country.

• Madras was the first state then to set up a separate section for maternal & child welfare in the public health department under the charge of an Asst. Director of Public Health. It was again Madras state which first attempted to replace by the better qualified personnel such as midwives & nurse midwives

1938 : Indian Research Fund Association was established which formed a committee that undertook the investigation into the incidence & cause of Maternal & infant morbidity & mortslity. Sir A. Mudaliar was the key person of this committee.

Investigation thus carried out in certain cities of the country revealed that • Institutional Midwifery services were limited • Maternal & Child welfare centre were poorly equipped & staffed • Untrained dais mostly handled deliveries

This situation continued for some more time. In 1946 the 5th health survey & development committee (Bhore committee) stated in its report that India was facing the problem of high maternal & infant death. It recommended empathetically that the measures for the reduction of sickness & mortality of mothers & children should have the highest priority in the health development programme of India. It was also mentioned that these deaths were preventable with the help of organized health services.

1951 : BCG Vaccination programme was launched
1952 : Primary Health centre set up
1953 : Nationwide family planning programme was initiated
1965 : Direct BCG Vaccination without prior tuberculosis test on a house to house Basis initiated
1970 : All India Hospital (Post partum) Family Planning Programme was started
1976 : National Programme for Prevention of Blindness was formulated
1977 : Multipurpose health worker scheme was launched
1978 : EPI was launched
1983 : National Health Policy – MCH & Family welfare services were integrated during this policy
1985 : Universal Immunization Programme was launched. A separate Department of women & child Development was set up under the newly created Ministry of Human Resource Development
1987 : A world wide “Safe Motherhood Campaign” was launched by World Bank
1990 : Control of Acute respiratory infection (ARI) programme initiated as a pilot Project in 14 districts
1992 : Child Survival & Safe Motherhood Programme (CSSM) was launched on 20 August • SMI (Safe Motherhood Initiative) Programme was started • The Infant Milk substitute, feeding bottles & Infant food (regulation of Production, Supply & Distribution) act 1992 came into force
1995 : ICDS renamed as Integrated Mother & Child Development Services (IMCD)
1996 : Pulse Polio Immunization, the largest single day public health event took place on 9th & 20th Jan 1996. 2nd phase PPI was conducted on 7th Dec 1996 & 8th Jan 1997
Family Planning Programme made target free from 1 April 1996
Prenatal Diagnostic Technique (Regulation & Prevention of Misuse) act 1994 came into force from Jan 1996