RAWALPINDI, Feb 3: Fifty per cent of the births in the district take place either at homes or at places other than hospitals, a study conducted by the district health department showed.

According to the study, 38 per cent of the births take place at home, 12 per cent at unrecognized facilities and the remaining 50 per cent at health care facilities. Infant mortality rate in Rawalpindi district is 105 per 1,000 infants.

While talking to this reporter here on Monday, the district health officer, Dr Shoaib Khan, said the results were encouraging, but still required a lot of improvement. “Births at home and unrecognized places can put the lives of both the mother and child at risk,” he added.

About the complications that could occur due to births at home, where deliveries are mostly handled by untrained attendants, he said the biggest risk was that of neo-natal tetanus due to use of unhygienic instruments during the process of the birth. Neo-natal tetanus could be fatal for the new born, he said.

The study shows that only 27 per cent of the children in the district are protected against neo-natal tetanus at birth.

“In case of obstructive labour outside the hospital, the life of the mother is always at a greater risk,” he said.

In case of uterus rupture, immense loss of blood takes place, which can lead to death of the mother, he added.

Secondly, he said, in the event of complications because of obstructive labour at home it was sometimes next to impossible to rush for medical attention.

Meanwhile, Dr Khan said delayed and obstructive surgery could cause oxygenation problem for the newborn baby.

Such a happening may damage the brain of the baby, leading to permanent mental retardation, he said.

The new born, the DHO said, could contract infection like septicaemia from unclean environment at home and other unrecognized delivery centres. These infections, he warned, could be fatal or might lead to other serious complications in the future life of the child.

About the reasons why people opt for home delivery, he said birth at hospitals was normally a costly affair, which many could not afford. He said those opting for home delivery should at least ensure that some trained LHVs or medical personnel handled the birth.

The study suggests that almost 80 per cent of the women in Rawalpindi district get antenatal care. Dr Khan says these results are very satisfactory.

He said it showed that there was a growing awareness among the people about this sensitive issue.

The DHO said this had been possible because of increased availability of staff at the grass-root health care outlets, and the successful implementation of the National Programme for Primary Health Care and Family Planning.

The study further showed that 57 per cent of the pregnant women visited health care facilities for reasons other than pregnancy.

The DHO said this was an indication of the fact that people were attaching more and more importance to the good health of the mother.