`Precautions can prevent death of pregnant women'

The Doctors’ Day programme was conducted jointly by The Hindu and Andhra Hospitals in the city on Tuesday. In 90 per cent of the cases, death could have been prevented with the simplest of precautionary measures.

Andhra Hospitals Managing Director P.V. Ramana Murthy addressing a meeting on the hospital premises in Vijayawada on Tuesday. Photo: V. Raju

Poor awareness was the primary reason for the high death rate of pregnant women in India. One pregnant woman was dying every eight minutes in this country. There was only one death in a month in developed countries, said Maternal and Foetal Medicine specialist Padma Paturi. In 90 per cent of the cases, death could have been prevented with the simplest of precautionary measures, she said.

Dr. Padma explained the alarming high mortality rate of pregnant women at the Doctors’ Day programme conducted jointly by The Hindu and Andhra Hospitals here on Tuesday. She said anaemia was the primary reason for the death in 70 per cent of cases. While a simple scan would throw a lot of light on the health of the foetus and the mother, 60 per cent of the women in the country were delivering without a scan.

In 15 per cent of the cases where death was caused by serious complications, simple measures like monthly B.P. and blood sugar level checks would go a long way in preventing mortality, she said.

Andhra Hospitals MD and chief Surgical Gastroenterologist P.V. Ramana Murthy said that the primary purpose of the Doctors’ Day was for those from the medical profession to rededicate themselves to serve people. He said all doctors should emulate Bharat Ratna award winner and Mahatma Gandhi’s physician B.C. Roy whose birthday was observed as the National Doctor’s Day in India. He said even after becoming the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr Roy had practised medicine for 14 years. Dr Roy still holds the record for shortest time to get both FRCS and MRCP degrees.

Specialist in Paediatric Intensive Care P.V. Rama Rao said awareness was poor about the treatment of babies born prematurely. Senior interventional cardiologist J. Sreemannarayana said all hospital staff had to work as a team. Doctors and support staff should work with service motto. He said the incidence of cardiac diseases had increased exponentially because of lifestyle changes.

Pulmonologist M. Ravindranath said that many were suffering lung disorders because of the increase in pollution. Orthopaedic surgeon B. Sunil stressed the importance of the ‘Golden Hour’ in trauma care. He said lives could be saved if the injured were taken to the nearest hospital within an hour.