Bengal adjudged best state for effective family planning

Kolkata: Bengal has been adjudged as the leading state for adopting effective family planning methods at the 5th National Summit in Guwahati on Sunday.

An economic review published by the department of Planning and Statistics under the Bengal government for the year 2018-19 reveals that at present the state leads in postpartum intrauterine contraceptive device (IPPIUCD) acceptance rate in the country with an achievement of 40 per cent.

IPPIUCD is a lucrative postpartum family planning method which provides effective reversible contraception to women.

With continued focus on family planning Couple Protection Rate (CPR) of the state has increased from 49.9 per cent to 57 per cent which is one of the highest in the country.

It is an indicator of the prevalence of contraceptive practice in the community. The CPR is usually expressed as the percentage of women in the age group of 15-49 years protected from pregnancy or child birth in the year under consideration for a specific area.

The eligible couples are effectively protected against childbirth by one of the approved methods of family planning such as sterilization, intrauterine device, condom and oral contraceptives.

The review also says that the teenage fertility rate has declined from 25.3 per cent to 18 per cent and the prevalence of low birth weight has also declined 22.9 per cent to 16.7 per cent.

It may also be mentioned that infant mortality rate has reduced to 25 per 1000 births following a number of initiatives taken up by the Mamata Banerjee government. At the same time, the rate of institutional deliveries has increased to 97 per cent in the state.

This has become possible due to various projects in the state. Various "waiting huts" or "pre-delivery huts" have been constructed by the health department to provide healthcare facilities to pregnant women free of cost in far-flung areas. The parliamentary committee on the empowerment of women in the Centre has shown interest in the project.

After coming to power the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee laid a great emphasis on health infrastructure in the rural areas and also on mother-child care. The Bengal government has achieved a significant milestone as it has been able to reach 99 per cent in immunization of children.