ThaicareNellai turning the tide in Tirunelveli?

MATERNAL HEALTH - So far, safe deliveries facilitated in 2,018 high-risk pregnancies

- SREEMATHI M

THE introduction of a new data-driven system may be saving the lives of many pregnant women in Tirunelveli. While it is early days yet, officials said, since the launch of the ThaicareNellai network, the district has recorded only three maternal deaths between April and July. In comparison, it recorded 14 deaths in the same period in 2021. The system, aimed at improving maternal health, uses multiple data points to assess risk, stage interventions and ensure safe deliveries. Active since March, the programme was formally launched in May.

"While handling patients' data during the pandemic, we got the idea of using a similar framework to tackle the district's high maternal mortality ratio (MMR)," explained Dr M Aazmi, a professor of community medicine at the Tirunelveli Medical College.