Coimbatore Corporation has planned to provide eggs to mothers who have delivered children at its urban health centres in the city.
Proposal
According to sources, once the Corporation Council’s Standing Committee on Health clears the proposal the same will go to the Council for approval, which is only a formality considering that it is a welfare measure and does not cost much.
The Corporation runs 20 maternity centres. Each centre gets around 80 cases a month (for details see graphic).
The women who go to the centre for delivery stay there for three days.
During their stay, after delivery, the Corporation provides milk and bread to the women. Now it will add egg to the menu.
The sources say the objective is to improve the protein intake of the women, who will start feeding the newborn babies.
The exercise will cost the Corporation a negligible amount, the sources say and point out that an egg a day for a new mother for three days for last year’s delivery figure of 1,090 deliveries works out to less than Rs. 15,000.
It is not the money that the Corporation is concerned about in this exercise. It is interested in the health of the new mothers and babies.
Service
This initiative, as and when implemented, will be the latest in the Corporation’s efforts at improving the health wing and its services.
Only recently the Corporation decided to computerise its medicine disbursement system.
It is now engaged in taking medical help with the reach of the residents of urban slums. The sources say that medical officers, pharmacists and male nursing assistants in the 16 dispensaries are going to urban slums between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to treat the sick persons there.
Team
This exercise has been going on for the past 45 days. On every day of the week, as per a timetable, the team of three will go to slums in turns.
And this exercise has a good response in that the number of persons meeting the team is on the increase.
The sources add the Corporation is planning more such new initiatives.
