Pregnant women who lack access to gynaecologists will soon be able to consult them through telemedicine facilities from any health and wellness centre in the state, officials in the state health department said on Wednesday.
Many of the pregnant women who are identified as “high-risk” by doctors and health workers in primary health centres do not visit a hospital that has a gynaecology department, said an official in the state health department. The telemedicine facility will allow these women to talk to a specialist from a centre closer home.
Pregnant women who are categorised as high-risk have high blood pressure and sugar levels.
Women suffering from thyroid-related diseases and kidney, liver or heart ailment are among those who are listed as high-risk.
Women who have had at least three pregnancies before and those who conceive at an early or advanced age are also considered high-risk, said doctors.
Bengal’s maternal mortality ratio is above 100 per 100,000 live births, compared with
the national average of 97,
according to the 2018-20 figures published by the Registrar General of India in November.
The state’s maternal mortality ratio had dropped to 94 and 98 in the 2015-17 and 2016-18, respectively, said a health department official.
It rose to 109 in the next sample registration system (2017-19).
A professor of gynaecology and obstetrics said an experienced gynaecologist will be able to ascertain during a telemedicine consultation whether a patient needs to physically visit a hospital.
He also pointed out that most gynaecologists want to physically examine a pregnant woman. Telemedicine consultations, he said, will
be restricted to very basic checks.
The Bengal government is offering telemedicine facilities from about 7,500 centres.