Monetary Intensive and Utilization of Maternal Care among Tribal Population of Central India

Government initiated ‘Janani Surakshya Yojana’, a cash incentive to promote institutional deliveries and reducing maternal and infant deaths. This study examines the impact of Janani Surakshya Yojana on utilization of maternal care services among Bhils- the largest tribe of Madhya Pradesh. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 60 Primary Sampling Units (PSU) selected through Probability to Population Size (PPS) sampling technique. Overall, 1049 recently delivered women (RDWs) – women who delivered a live birth in two years preceding to the date of survey were interviewed.
The study revealed that the registration of pregnant women with ANM and utilization of atleast one ANC is satisfactory, but still less than half of women receive ANCs fewer than the recommended (atleast three) checkups during pregnancy. Though the proportion of institutional deliveries has improved considerably among Bhils, however, still most of the home deliveries are made by untrained ‘dais’ (TBA). The study further revealed that because ‘Janani Surakshya Yojana (JSY)’, not only the proportion of institutional deliveries has improved but also the postnatal checkups have changed for better. However, the quality of ANCs, PNCs and number of home visits by health workers are disappointing.