Health minister slams death due to home birth, calls it intentional homicide

Thiruvananthapuram: The death of a woman due to haemorrhage following a home birth is equivalent to intentional homicide, said health minister Veena George on Monday.
"Kerala is a state with the lowest maternal and infant mortality rates. However, some undesirable trends are emerging in our society. The recent death of a mother is extremely unfortunate," she said.
"It was reported from the district health administration that an ASHA worker visited the house a few weeks ago but was not allowed to enter. Even when a health worker later visited the same house, the family wasn't ready to disclose the woman's pregnancy to them," she added.
"Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman endured bleeding for about three hours. This is a very serious matter and must be strongly opposed," said George.
"Through decades of efforts, we reduced maternal and infant mortality. While 97 mothers die per 100,000 births in India, in Kerala it is only 19. This achievement is due to the hard work of Kerala's health workers, their foresight, determination and govt's policies. Scientific interventions and community involvement helped reduce maternal and infant mortality," she added.