EXISTING PRACTICES AND BARRIERS TO ACCESS OF MCH SERVICES – A CASE STUDY OF RESIDENTIAL URBAN SLUMS O DISTRICT MOHALI, PUNJAB, INDIA

Maternal mortality and morbidity continues to be high, despite the existence of national programs, for improving maternal and child health in India. Urban population of India is about 377 million, out of which 97 million are urban poor (Census 2011). Though urban India has a relatively strong health infrastructure, there is marked inequitable distribution of service availability and utilization between the rich and poor, between the settled urban population and the marginalized slum dwellers. The main objective of paper was to study the utilization of Maternal Child Healthcare services in urban slums of district Mohali, Punjab, India. Cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted and eligible women were interviewed using a semi structured questionnaire. The study clearly indicates that while the ANC utilization stands at 77%, the PNC utilization is just 23%. Home deliveries and Institutional deliveries were found to be 49% and 51% respectively, but only 4% of the home deliveries were conducted by trained SBA. JSY scheme benefit was made available to only 12% of the eligible beneficiaries. Immunisation coverage of children up to the present age was 57%. The current study revealed that utilization of healthcare services is poor in urban slums even though Healthcare facilities are available and accessible.