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Doctors Deride Indian Government’s Advice to Pregnant Women

Published

9 years ago

June 21, 2017

Doctors Deride Indian Government’s Advice to Pregnant Women

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With all the pregnancy advice and restrictions out there, it can be hard to keep track of which ones are medically proven to be safe and which ones are plain ludicrous. Something doctors say falls into the latter category is the Indian government telling pregnant women to avoid meat, eggs, and “lusty thoughts”.

In a country with already one of the highest rates of maternal mortality, according to UNICEF, medical experts are urging expectant mothers not to listen to this illogical and even dangerous advice.

“The government is doling out unscientific and irrational advice, instead of ensuring that poor pregnant women get to eat a nutritious, high-protein diet,” gynecologist Arun Gadre, who works in the rural areas of India, told ABC News of the new recommendations.

Gadre said: “This is a national shame. If the calories of expectant mothers are further reduced by asking them to shun meat and eggs, this situation will only worsen. This is absurd advice to be giving to pregnant women in a country like India.”

As the Associated Press reported, the government-issued booklet called Mother and Child Care is the “latest push for vegetarianism by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government”.

While a vegetarian diet can be safe and nutritionally adequate during pregnancy, adding more restrictions could only compound a cycle of malnutrition problems in India, where many people already struggle to live on less than $2 a day, according to The World Bank.

According to UNICEF, one-third of women of reproductive age in India are undernourished, which often leads to passing on nutrition deficits to babies, who are often then born with low birth weight. To make matters worse, women often give portions of their meals to their hungry children or husband, the Associated Press reported.

“This kind of advice is detrimental to women’s health,” Amit Sengupta, a physician and health care activist, told The Guardian.

The booklet also says pregnant women should “detach themselves from desire, anger, attachment, hatredness and lust,” the Hindustan Times reported. According to the Associated Press, the booklet also says expectant mothers should “shun ‘impure thoughts’ and look at pictures of beautiful babies to benefit the fetus”.

While it did not advise specifically against having sex, it is an oppressive recommendation and backward logic to ask pregnant women to avoid all thoughts of desire or lust. In fact, there are several benefits to having sex while pregnant, such as increased endorphin levels and lower blood pressure.

Gynecologist and obstetrician Malavika Sabharwal told the Hindustan Times: “Pregnant women need to be happy and instead of being prescriptive about what they should think and do to be happy, we must urge them to do things they enjoy and strongly advise the family be to supportive.”

In a country where improving maternal health care has been a challenge for various socioeconomic and cultural reasons, it is evident that medical experts do not want pregnant women in India to be restricted from more necessities that could only worsen an already troubling situation.

-Agencies

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Related Topics:Ayush Health India Irrational Pregnant Women Unscientific Vegetarian

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Delhi-NCR sees second spell of rain and thunderstorms in four days

Delhi-NCR experienced another spell of rain and thunderstorms on March 18, with IMD forecasting more showers over the next few days.

Published

45 mins ago

March 18, 2026

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Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region witnessed another spell of rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds on Wednesday evening, marking the second such weather event in the past four days.

The sudden change brought relief from unusually high temperatures recorded earlier this month. According to officials, the temperature at Safdarjung — the city’s base weather station — was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius at 7 pm.

The India Meteorological Department had earlier issued an alert predicting light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning on March 18. Several areas across the capital experienced gusty winds along with brief but intense showers.

More rain likely over next two days

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Weather activity across India to intensify

The IMD has also indicated widespread weather activity across multiple regions of the country in the coming days. Rainfall is expected to intensify in several states, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds.

In the northeastern region, heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya during the early part of the week.

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India News

Centre pushes states to cut levies to boost PNG adoption

The Centre has asked states to reduce local levies and streamline approvals to accelerate PNG adoption and city gas infrastructure growth.

Published

3 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has urged states and Union Territories to ease local levies and procedural barriers affecting City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects, in a bid to accelerate the adoption of piped natural gas (PNG) as a cleaner fuel alternative.

In a communication sent to Chief Secretaries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Neeraj Mittal highlighted that high right-of-way charges, road cutting fees, lease rentals and other local levies imposed by urban bodies are discouraging investments in CGD infrastructure.

High costs slowing expansion

The ministry pointed out that the CGD sector, particularly PNG supply to households and commercial establishments, does not receive direct subsidies. As a result, it depends heavily on viable returns, which are being impacted by excessive and inconsistent local charges across states.

It noted that these financial and procedural hurdles are slowing down infrastructure expansion and affecting the broader adoption of natural gas.

Gap between connections and usage

According to the government, while around 12.63 crore PNG connections have been recorded, only about 1.6 crore are currently active. The ministry stressed that improving ease of doing business at state and local levels could help bridge this gap and expand the consumer base.

Officials believe that rationalising levies may initially reduce local revenues but could lead to higher long-term gains through increased gas consumption and economic activity.

LPG shortage adds urgency

The push for PNG adoption comes amid supply constraints in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Oil marketing companies are currently supplying only 20 per cent of normal commercial LPG demand to states.

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Reform-linked incentives for states

The Centre has suggested a set of measures that states can adopt to qualify for higher LPG allocations. These include:

Setting up empowered state and district-level committees for faster approvals
Introducing single-window clearance with deemed approvals within 24 hours
Implementing a dig-and-restore model using bank guarantees instead of restoration charges
Eliminating annual rental or lease charges for CGD infrastructure

The ministry said compliance with these reforms would be verified before granting additional LPG allocations.

Industry support measures

The communication also noted that GAIL and its subsidiaries have already allocated full gas supply to the commercial PNG segment to support businesses affected by reduced LPG availability.

The government reiterated that expanding natural gas usage aligns with its broader push for cleaner and domestically sourced energy.

India News

BJP seals Assam seat-sharing pact, Modi to hold 3 rallies in April

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Published

3 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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The Bharatiya Janata Party has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, firming up its strategy alongside National Democratic Alliance partners as campaigning gathers pace in the state.

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Campaign push led by top leadership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address three rallies in Assam during the final leg of the campaign. Tentative dates for the rallies are April 1, April 3 and April 6, with events likely to be held in key constituencies.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also set to spearhead an extensive campaign across the state through March, aiming to energise party workers and strengthen voter outreach.

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The party’s Central Election Committee is currently meeting to finalise candidates. Sources indicate that approvals for most constituencies are expected soon, and the BJP may release its complete list of candidates within the next two days.

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