Most women in North don't get maternity benefits: Survey

Mumbai: MATERNITY benefits of at least Rs 6,000 per child are a legal right of all Indian women under the National Food Security Act, 2013. In practice, a large majority are still deprived of maternity benefits.

The revelation has been made as a follow-up to the recent launch of the film "Janam aur Jeevan". The findings are based on the Jaccha-Baccha Survey (JABS), 2019. The research team includes Jean Dreze (a noted economist), Reetika Khera (economist, IIT, New Delhi) and an independent researcher, Anmol Somanchi.

A recent survey, conducted in six States of north India, brings out that pregnant women's basic needs for nutritious food, proper rest and healthcare are rarely satisfied.

Among women who had delivered a child during the 6 months preceding the survey, about half said that they had been eating less rather than more during pregnancy, and nearly 40 per cent complained of a lack of rest at that time.

The figures are much worse in States like Uttar Pradesh, where, for instance, one third of the same women had not had a single ante-natal check-up. Average weight gain during pregnancy was just 7 kg over nine months in this sample, down to 4 kg in Uttar Pradesh.

Aside from poor nutrition, lack of rest appears to be a major factor of low weight gain during pregnancy. There is an urgent need for better recognition of the special needs of pregnancy, provision of maternity benefits in accordance with the law, and better support for pregnant women including quality healthcare.