The Thane district collectorate helps pregnant women get free sonography tests under the scheme during pregnancy. The officials claim due to sonography tests being privatized many pregnant women avoid the test resulting in death of the baby or any health issues.
If the data provided by the collector office or Thane zilla parishad is to be believed around 3096 pregnant women were helped with Rs 30,90,000 in the year 2020-21.
The Government of Maharashtra has now introduced a new scheme called Free Sonography Test scheme. The scheme offers free sonography tests to pregnant women in the state. "The objective of the scheme is to provide free sonography to poor families and women during pregnancy. Also to make sure that the mother and child are healthy," said an official from the Thane district health department.
Sources from the collector office said the Thane district has around 33 primary health centers across the district, where around 27,000 pregnant women registered themselves for the pregnancy. "The rural hospitals and sub-district hospitals across the district don't have facilities of sonography and specialist doctors. However, the pregnant women have to approach the private hospital for sonography and have to pay from their own pocket. As most of the crowd in the district comes from the remote villages and tribal communities. These people have financial problems which leads to avoid the sonography test. It results in not getting proper treatment on time and getting complications in the pregnancy," said an official from the health department.
However, Chief executive officials from Thane Zilla parishad along with District health officials had started the free sonography scheme since 2015-16 in the district. "Getting the one sonography on time the doctors check birth:satire, twince child, Hydramnios Oligohydramnios or the movement of the child. After seeing if there are any complications they doctors accordingly suggest treatment and medicine to the pregnant women which keep the child and mother safe," said the officials.
Manish Renghe, the district health officer of Thane said, "As per suggestion from the civic hospital medical officer pregnant women go for sonography at any private centres. The women are paid Rs 8,00 for sonography and Rs 200 as expenses. A total of Rs 1,000 is being given to the pregnant woman," he added.
