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National Safe Motherhood Day: Women have God’s gift to give birth to a child. In itself, it is a miracle. In our country, there are women who died while giving birth and also don’t get nutrition, and proper care during the course of pregnancy and after that also. National Safe Motherhood Day (NSMD) is celebrated to aware people of healthcare facilities for women. Let us study further about NSMD.
National Safe Motherhood Day: Date
- 2025: 11 April, 2025 [Friday]
- 2026: 11 April, 2026 [Saturday]
- 2027: 11 April, 2027 [Sunday]
- 2028: 11 April, 2028 [Tuesday]
NSMD is observed annually on 11 April to raise awareness about the proper healthcare of women and maternity facilities for pregnant and lactating women. This day also focuses on reducing anaemia among women, institutional delivery, better pre and postnatal health care etc. which are necessary for mothers.
National Safe Motherhood Day (NSMD): Theme
The government has not announced the theme for this year’s safe motherhood day officially. However, the theme is selected by the members of WRAI yearly who carry out full-scale campaign activities raising awareness about healthcare and maternity for pregnant and lactating mothers. White Ribbon Alliance India (WRAI) carries out several activities, increases awareness and organises full-scale campaigns throughout the country. The goal of these campaigns is to seek every woman has the right to live and they could survive during pregnancy and childbirth.
This day also raises awareness for the prevention of child marriages because we can say that child marriage may be an indirect cause of maternal deaths. It is the right of every woman to take good quality nutrition and proper healthcare services during and after pregnancy and childbirth. In fact, in India, the government is also taking efforts to reduce the maternal mortality rate but we can’t ignore the fact that it is our duty also to take steps for women’s healthcare and if needed to educate them.
Also, at the beginning of the year, White Ribbon Alliance India launched an e-learning program on Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) for healthcare providers. The philanthropic initiative is taken in collaboration with Aastrika Foundation to educate and aware the nurses, for better journey.
History:
Let us tell you that this day is celebrated due to the initiative of the White Ribbon Alliance India (WRAI) to provide and inform women about healthcare habits and for the availability and accessibility of various healthcare programs during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal services. In 2003, according to the request of WRAI, the Government of India had declared 11 April as National Safe Motherhood Day which is the anniversary day of Kasturba Gandhi‘s birth. She is the wife of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the father of the nation.
Do you know that:
Facts about Maternal Mortality according to WHO
- Approximately 830 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
- In developing countries, 99% of maternal deaths occur.
- In women, maternal mortality is higher basically living in rural areas and among poorer communities.
- As compared to women, young adolescents face a higher risk of complications and death as a result of pregnancy.
- We can’t ignore the fact that skilled care before, during and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborn babies.
- Maternal mortality worldwide dropped by about 44% between 1990 and 2015.
- As part of the Sustainable Development Goals between 2016 and 2030, the target is to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100000 live births.
- India is the first country in the world to have officially declared a National Safe Motherhood Day.
The government has undertaken a number of attempts throughout the years to reduce the rates of maternal and neonatal mortality. India is making efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) aim of bringing the maternal death rate to under 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. And for this, a number of government programmes have been introduced, including the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK).
