National Safe Motherhood Day in India 2011It commemorates the more than 63,000 women in India who die in pregnancy and childbirth each year-11/4/11.

National Safe Motherhood Day in India 2011

April 11, 2011 — Ritu Kumari and her daughter are survivors. They lived through childbirth in India where one in 140 women is at risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes. Ritu and her child are alive because her family recognized the dangers signs and knew Ritu needed a doctor.

A few days before her due date, Ritu started bleeding, so she went to a private hospital where she was told that it was not serious and to return in a few days when she was in labor. Ritu's pain and bleeding got worse and her family took her to another doctor. This doctor informed her family that he needed to perform a cesarean section, but Ritu had lost a lot of blood and would need a transfusion.

There was a problem. The hospital did not have blood bank, so it was left up to Ritu’s family to find donors. Despite the fact that it was monsoon season and there was a lack of transportation, Ritu’s mother did not give up until she finally found some youth who volunteered to donate.

Ritu and her daughter suffered complications and remained in the hospital for 12 days, but they both lived. In the end, Ritu was lucky. Her family was informed and took action swiftly. They took her to a facility where they had the ability to save her life. Many women in India are not so lucky. They die needlessly due to the lack of information, transportation, adequate facilities and simple interventions.

April 11 is National Safe Motherhood Day in India. It commemorates the more than 63,000 women in India who die in pregnancy and childbirth each year. It also calls attention to health interventions that can save lives—like those that saved Ritu and her daughter.

The White Ribbon Alliance holds annual events to keep the safe motherhood campaign visible.

To observe the day, CEDPA India and the White Ribbon Alliance India held an event this morning at the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare in New Delhi in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The event brought together the government, donor agencies, U.N. agencies, health service providers, civil societies, individuals and others to urge for action on this year’s theme: Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness.

The event served as the premier of the teaching film on birth preparedness and complication readiness by Raveena Tandon, noted film star and safe motherhood champion. The film focuses on telling families about the key steps of birth preparedness and identifying potential problems, so they know what to do in situations like Ritu’s.

There was also a presentation from Dr. Anjana Saxena, deputy commissioner of the Maternal Health Division of the Government of India, who highlighted government strategies for ensuring safe pregnancy and childbirth and the challenges faced in implementing them. In addition, there were presentations by the Population Fund of India and an auxiliary nurse midwife from Bihar, who shared some of her field experiences.

To keep the momentum going throughout the day and year, CEDPA India, the secretariat for the White Ribbon Alliance India, and the alliance partners recruited safe motherhood champions, such as the film actress Pooja Bedi, to write commentaries in national papers. The goal is to inform and educate the public and key decision makers about the steps they can take to have a lasting impact on families throughout India.

Learn more about CEDPA’s work in India.