LUDHIANA : MCP cards made mandatory for private clinics too

LUDHIANA: The Directorate of Family Welfare has made it mandatory for pregnant women all over the state to produce a 'mother and child protection (MCP) card' issued by the area's auxiliary nurses and mid-wives (ANM) at the ultrasound centre for conducting the scan.

Previously, pregnant women were required to show an identity card and ultrasound centres were also required to retain a copy of the same, along with the form. However, as many well-to-do families prefer to get mother and childcare treatment from private institutions, they did not bother to get the MCP card issued from the area's ANM, thus hampering the registration of pregnancies with the Health Department. The new rule has been made to keep a check on illegal abortions and other malpractices.

Civil Surgeon Dr Renu Chattwal said: "Pregnant ladies and their families can get the card from any of our government centres. This is now mandatory for patients going to private centres too. Whenever a new pregnancy comes to the notice of the AMN in a particular area, it becomes her responsibility to keep a track of the same." The new circular will help the health department tally the number of pregnancies registered with the number of child births in a particular area in order to find out about any case of sex-specific illegal termination.

Dr Neelam Sodhi, past president of Doctors Opposing Sex Selected Termination (DOSST), said: "This is a good step taken by the government. But it should do it with a fool-proof plan. Pregnancies should be registered before three months, because it is after three months that sex determination tests start. Moreover, there should be designated centres like civil surgeon's office or any dispensary where ANMs can be reached for getting MCP cards." This card can also be used for procuring birth certificates.