522 infants died in 3 months in Gujarat; minister says ’not alarming’

Mangalore Today News Network

Ahmedabad, Jan 06, 2020:   In a rerun of Kota hospital deaths in Rajasthan, where over 100 infants perished,  a total of 522 newborns are said to have died at two major civil hospitals in Gujarat in the past three months.

 

In December alone, 88 infants died out of the total 804 childbirths recorded in Rajkot civil hospital, while in Ahmedabad, the number was 111 out of 849 deliveries.

State Health Minister Nitin Patel termed the incidents “tragic” but said the numbers were not “alarming” as they were below the average infant mortality rate in the state. He said malnutrition was the main reason behind the deaths, besides several diseases and other factors.

Patel, who is also the deputy chief minister, said no parallel could be drawn between the cases being reported in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Giving details about the cases, he said that in Rajkot, 269 children died in less than three weeks of their birth from October to December. Similarly, in Ahmedabad, 253 children died. He claimed that on an average, these numbers were below the 25% morality rate. The minister said the deaths rose due to cold weather in December.

“Gujarat is largely a vegetarian state; people eat less nutritious food. We are trying to create awareness, particularly among pregnant women, to eat well. Gujarat has an average of 30% mortality rate and we are trying to better it.”

The Congress lashed out at the BJP over the Gujarat casualties.

Courtesy:Deccan Herald