Workshop on safe motherhood held for ASHA workers

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, April 14, 2012 : A workshop on safe motherhood and newborn care was held in Mangalore, during which the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) interacted with doctors from Justice K. S. Hegde Charitable Hospital.

 

Around 143 ASHA workers from 10 primary health centres across Mangalore participated in this workshop.

Speaking on the subject of antenatal care, Prasanna Shetty, the professor of obstetrics and gynecology, said that anemia is common among pregnant women in India, the percentage being as high as 60 – 80 percent. This is because of iron deficiency in women living in rural areas, he said, adding that the slightest loss of blood in case of such women will be life threatening. He said that the condition can be easily cured with iron tablets and nutritional supplements if detected early in pregnancy.

Speaking about the gap between the first and the second child, Dr. Shetty said that ideally a woman should have her second child three years after the first one.

Sumanth Shetty, the professor of pediatrics, spoke on the subject of immunization. He said that it is necessary to follow the prescribed immunization schedule, which is the same for all children, irrespective of whether they are born prematurely or are underweight.

N. Vinaya Hegde, the chancellor of Nitte University; Arunachalam Kumar, the dean of K. S. Hegde Medical Academy; Harish Shetty, the head of the department of obstetrics and gynecology, also spoke on this occasion.