Trends in Choosing Place of Delivery and Assistance during Delivery in Nanded District, Maharashtra, India

Delivery in a medical institution promotes child survival and reduces the risk of maternal mortality. Many initiatives under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) focus on increasing the institutional deliveries. This study describes the trends in choosing place of delivery in Nanded district at the end of the first phase of the mission. Key informants were interviewed to document the initiatives under NRHM implemented in the district. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 30 villages selected using one stage cluster-sampling method. A house-to-house survey was conducted in June 2009. A set of structured open-ended questionnaire was used for interviewing all women who had delivered during January 2004\u2013May 2009. The outcomes studied were place of delivery and assistance during delivery. Analysis was done by calculating chi-square test and odds ratio. Interventions to improve the quality of health services and healthcare-seeking behaviour were implemented successfully in the district. The proportion of institutional deliveries increased from 42% in 2004 to 69% in 2009. A significant increase was observed in the proportion of institutional deliveries [60% vs 45%; \u3c72 =173.85, p<0.05, odds ratio (OR)=1.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.65-1.97)] in the NRHM period compared to the pre-NRHM period. The deliveries in government institutions and in private institutions also showed a significant rise. The proportion of deliveries assisted by health personnel increased significantly during the NRHM period [62% vs 49%; \u3c72 =149.39; p<0.05, OR=1.73, 95% CI 1.58-1.89] However, less than 10% of the deliveries in the home (range 2-9%) were assisted by health personnel throughout the study period. There was a wide geographic variation in place of delivery among the study villages. The results showed a significant increase in the proportion of institutional deliveries and deliveries assisted by health personnel in the NRHM period. Since a less proportion of deliveries in the home is conducted by health personnel, the focus should be on increasing the institutional deliveries. Special and innovative interventions should be implemented in the villages with a less proportion of institutional deliveries

First Record of Protobothrops Jerdonii Xanthomelas (Gunther, 1889) from Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, India

Volume: 106Start Page: 211End Page: 21

The birds of Namdapha National Park and surrounding areas: recent significant records and a checklist of the species

Volume: 26Start Page: 92End Page: 11

Trends in Choosing Place of Delivery and Assistance during Delivery in Nanded District, Maharashtra, India

Delivery in a medical institution promotes child survival and reduces the risk of maternal mortality. Many initiatives under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) focus on increasing the institutional deliveries. This study describes the trends in choosing place of delivery in Nanded district at the end of the first phase of the mission. Key informants were interviewed to document the initiatives under NRHM implemented in the district. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 30 villages selected using one stage cluster-sampling method. A house-to-house survey was conducted in June 2009. A set of structured open-ended questionnaire was used for interviewing all women who had delivered during January 2004–May 2009. The outcomes studied were place of delivery and assistance during delivery. Analysis was done by calculating chi-square test and odds ratio. Interventions to improve the quality of health services and healthcare-seeking behaviour were implemented successfully in the district. The proportion of institutional deliveries increased from 42% in 2004 to 69% in 2009. A significant increase was observed in the proportion of institutional deliveries [60% vs 45%; χ2 =173.85, p<0.05, odds ratio (OR)=1.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.65-1.97)] in the NRHM period compared to the pre-NRHM period. The deliveries in government institutions and in private institutions also showed a significant rise. The proportion of deliveries assisted by health personnel increased significantly during the NRHM period [62% vs 49%; χ2 =149.39; p<0.05, OR=1.73, 95% CI 1.58-1.89] However, less than 10% of the deliveries in the home (range 2-9%) were assisted by health personnel throughout the study period. There was a wide geographic variation in place of delivery among the study villages. The results showed a significant increase in the proportion of institutional deliveries and deliveries assisted by health personnel in the NRHM period. Since a less proportion of deliveries in the home is conducted by health personnel, the focus should be on increasing the institutional deliveries. Special and innovative interventions should be implemented in the villages with a less proportion of institutional deliveries

Integrative taxonomy of the Plain-backed Thrush (Zoothera mollissima) complex (Aves, Turdidae) reveals cryptic species, including a new species

Background: The Plain-backed Thrush Zoothera mollissima breeds in the Himalayas and mountains of central China. It was long considered conspecific with the Long-tailed Thrush Zoothera dixoni, until these were shown to be broadly sympatric. Methods: We revise the Z. mollissima–Z. dixoni complex by integrating morphological, acoustic, genetic (two mitochondrial and two nuclear markers), ecological and distributional datasets. Results: In earlier field observations, we noted two very different song types of “Plain-backed” Thrush segregated by breeding habitat and elevation. Further integrative analyses congruently identify three groups: an alpine breeder in the Himalayas and Sichuan, China (“Alpine Thrush”); a forest breeder in the eastern Himalayas and northwest Yunnan (at least), China (“Himalayan Forest Thrush”); and a forest breeder in central Sichuan (“Sichuan Forest Thrush”). Alpine and Himalayan Forest Thrushes are broadly sympatric, but segregated by habitat and altitude, and the same is probably true also for Alpine and Sichuan Forest Thrushes. These three groups differ markedly in morphology and songs. In addition, DNA sequence data from three non-breeding specimens from Yunnan indicate that yet another lineage exists (“Yunnan Thrush”). However, we find no consistent morphological differences from Alpine Thrush, and its breeding range is unknown. Molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest that all four groups diverged at least a few million years ago, and identify Alpine Thrush and the putative “Yunnan Thrush” as sisters, and the two forest taxa as sisters. Cytochrome b divergences among the four Z. mollissima sensu lato (s.l.) clades are similar to those between any of them and Z. dixoni, and exceed that between the two congeneric outgroup species. We lectotypify the name Oreocincla rostrata Hodgson, 1845 with the Z. mollissima sensu stricto (s.s.) specimen long considered its type. No available name unambiguously pertains to the Himalayan Forest Thrush. Conclusions: The Plain-backed Thrush Z. mollissima s.l. comprises at least three species: Alpine Thrush Z. mollissima s.s., with a widespread alpine breeding distribution; Sichuan Forest Thrush Z. griseiceps, breeding in central Sichuan forests; and Himalayan Forest Thrush, breeding in the eastern Himalayas and northwest Yunnan (at least), which is described herein as a new species. “Yunnan Thrush” requires further study