Chandigarh, Jan 5 || The Punjab government has decentralised maternal healthcare, with Aam Aadmi Clinics emerging as the new lifeline for expectant mothers, government officials said.
Within four months of launching a specialised, protocol-driven pregnancy care model, the state has recorded a massive surge in service utilisation, with nearly 20,000 pregnant women visiting these clinics every month, said the State Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh.
He said the programme has already provided free ultrasound services to more than 10,000 women through a referral system.
By empanelling nearly 500 private diagnostic centres, the state government has ensured that women can access scans, which usually cost between Rs 800 and Rs 2,000, free of cost.
This intervention alone has saved families an estimated Rs 1 crore in out-of-pocket expenses in a short span of 120 days.
Official data shows less than 70 per cent of pregnant women in Punjab had received their first ante-natal check-up and fewer than 60 per cent had completed the recommended four check-ups, while the state's maternal mortality ratio stood at 90 per one lakh live births, higher than the national average.