Pune | Feb 19, 2013: In a bid to prevent female foeticide, a private hospital has been waiving off the entire maternity charges whenever a girl-child is born.
Dr Ganesh Rak, who runs the general and maternity hospital at Hadapsar near here, celebrates birth of a girl child by waiving the entire hospitalisation bill. His staff distribute sweets to the relatives of the mother.
"I decided to waive all hospital charges for women who gives birth to a girl child, pained by the apathy shown to the mother and the child by disappointed relatives who mount a mental pressure on the pregnant woman by constantly expecting a male child," Dr Rak, who has waived all charges in 144 such cases since last year, told PTI.
Rak, who heads the trust that runs "Medicare" hospital in the suburban Pune, said, "It has been a distressing experience to see a pregnant woman constantly suffering from expectation of delivering a male child. When the announcement is of a boy, the maternity ward is crowded with spontaneous celebrations by relatives, who, in contrast, desert it when the nurse says it is a girl."
"I have seen the mothers who have just delivered girl child crying inconsolably. Relatives who clear the hospital bills promptly if it is a boy, are not enthusiastic about payment if it is a girl. Discharge of the patient at times, is delayed deliberately," he said.
To counter this negative and retrograde thinking pattern and to shame the relatives who frown upon birth of girl child, Rak said the hospital decided to make the delivery of such women free of charge.
"After initial reservations, other professionals too joined the campaign, as the gynaecologist and pediatricians attached to the hospital willingly waived their own charges, lightening the financial burden on us," he added.
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Related Article:In a small Pune hospital, it pays to have a baby girl
NDTV Cities | Reported by Imtiaz Jaleel, Edited by Janaki Fernandes
PUNE: Over the last one year, Dr Ganesh Rakh has seen 144 girls born at the 20-bed multispeciality hospital he owns in Pune. Their parents were not charged a penny for the deliveries.
The 40-year-old gynaecologist says it's his contribution to fighting female foeticide in Maharashtra, a state where the sex ratio is lower than the national average of 914 girls for every 1,000 boys.
He explains why he decided to waive the Rs. 20,00 fees that would usually be charged for a delivery. "I noticed that when we informed the relatives that a boy has been born, then their joy knew no bounds but informing them about the birth of a girl child was akin to giving tragic news."
The hospital also celebrates the arrival of baby girls by distributing sweets.
A recent study conducted in Nagpur, a 11-hour drive from Pune, showed that the sex ratio even among families where both or one parent is a doctor is worryingly low (907 girls per 1,000 boys as compared to the national average of 914 per 1,000 boys).