Family Welfare is not merely population control. It is a broad programme covering the health and welfare of the entire family, particularly the mother and the child.
In order to ensure that healthy babies are born it is necessary to look after their mothers properly before and after child-birth.
Maternal and Child Health Care Services are aimed at:
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(a) Providing better health and improved chances of survival of children,
(b) To motivate couples to accept the norm of small family,
(c) Pregnant women are immunised with Tetanus Toxoid to prevent puerperal and neonatal tetanus,
(d) They are also given supplements of Iron and Folic Acid to protect them from developing nutritional anaemia,
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(e) Children are immunised against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, small-pox, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis and typhoid,
(f) Schemes have been taken up to protect children from nutritional anaemia and the possibility of blindness caused by Vitamin ‘A’ deficiency diseases,
(g) To make breast-feeding popular among mothers.
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Nutrition:
Nutrition, safe child-birth and protection against diseases are the major concerns of this programme. In India, nutritional aneamia (lack of blood) is very common among pregnant women and young children.
Many women die during pregnancy or child-birth because of anaemia. It is also responsible for premature or still death.
Main symptoms of anaemia are: getting tired easily, having little appetite, feeling breathless after exertion, or giddiness.
Lack or insufficiency of iron in the daily diet causes anaemia. The red pigment in the blood is known as Haemoglobin.
When the Haemoglobin level of a person goes down below a certain level it causes anaemia.
The best way to prevent anaemia is to take a daily diet containing adequate quantities of blood-forming elements; especially iron, whole gram, cereals, pulses, leafy vegetables, dry fruits, meat and liver to meet this need.
Cooking in iron pans increases the iron contents of food. Green vegetables are cheapest source of Iron.
To help those whose daily diets do not contain adequate amount of iron and Folic Acid necessary to form blood, the Department of Family Welfare distributes Iron and Folic Acid tablets.
These tablets provide the quantity of Iron and Folic Acid required in the daily diet to keep a person free from anaemia.
These tablets are distributed through Maternal and Child Health Clinics of all hospitals and also through Primary Health Centres, Sub-centres, Community Health Volunteers, Balwadis, Anganwadis and Supplementary Feeding Centres.
Protection against Vitamin ‘A’ Deficiency:
A large number of children in our country turn blind every year because they do not get enough vitamins ‘A’ in their diet.
To begin with, the white portion of the eye becomes dull, muddy, coloured or wrinkled. Then appear white triangular, foamy patches called ‘Bitot Spots’ on the white portion of the eyes.
In course of time, the black portion of the eye ball is also affected. Finally, eye sight is lost.
How to avoid Vitamin ‘A’ Deficiency?
Pregnant women and breast feeding mothers should eat a lot of food rich of Vitamin ‘A’ such as milk and eggs, green leafy vegetables like palak or amaranth, carrots and fruits like mango and papaya.
Fish oils like shark liver oil and cod liver oil are rich sources of Vitamin ‘A’. The new born should be given breast milk from the beginning.
Under the MCH programme a scheme for giving a pleasantly flavoured tablet of Vitamin ‘A’ has been started.
This high potency Vitamin ‘A’ tablet is given to children once every six months to children above one year and below six years of age.