India News
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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India News
Odisha Literary Festival: CM Naveen Patnaik praises PM Modi for steps taken to eradicate corruption
The Odisha CM spoke on the Women’s Reservation bill. He thought it is a very important step. Patnaik said his party has always supported Women empowerment. He said his father (ex CM Biju Patnaik) had reserved 33 percent of the seats women in the local elections. He stressed on the fact he had increased the women’s reservation to 50 percent.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the steps taken to eradicate corruption. Patnaik was speaking to the media at the Odisha Literary Festival. He rated the Modi government 8 out of 10. Patnaik appreciated the Centre’s foreign policy and many other matters as well. Patnaik said there had been less corruption in the BJP government.
The Odisha CM spoke on the Women’s Reservation bill. He thought it is a very important step. Patnaik said his party has always supported Women empowerment. He said his father (ex CM Biju Patnaik) had reserved 33 percent of the seats women in the local elections. He stressed on the fact he had increased the women’s reservation to 50 percent.
Patnaik said the BJD had fielded women candidates in 33 percent of the Lok sabha seats in Odisha in the 2019 elections. The BJD president said he supported the central government’s idea of one nation, one election.He said his government welcomed the idea and were prepared for it.
Patnaik was asked about his government’s relationship with the BJP government at the Centre. The Odisha CM said he has a very cordial relationship with the Centre. He said he was interested in the development of the state. Patnaik added the relationship with the Union government is very important for development.
Patnaik said Politics did not had to be dirty. He said it is a tool for serving the people of India. He said the Odisha government leaving no stone unturned for the eradication of poverty and the all round development of the state. Patnaik said the Odisha government had a great programme called Mission Shakti in which 7 million women from Odisha are involved in the empowerment of Women.
Bihar news
Bihar: 2 die, 3 lose eyesight after consuming spurious liquor in Muzaffarpur
Two people died while three people lost their eyesight in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur after consuming spurious liquor, as per the police.
Two people died while three people lost their eyesight in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur after consuming spurious liquor, as per the police.
Police have received information that two people died after their health suddenly deteriorated. In the prima facie inquiry, it has been told that they both had consumed country-made liquor. We have arrested two people. Further probe underway, the Superintendent of Police Abhishek Dixit said after two people died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Muzaffarpur.
According to reports, one of the victims, Dharmendra Ram, has revealed that he consumed spurious alcohol after purchasing from Shiv Chandra Paswan, who generally sells adulterated and low-quality liquor, due to which he lost his eyesight.
He started losing his vision after consuming two glasses of low-quality liquor, which cost him Rs 100.
Police, based on the victim’s statement, have arrested two people. One of the arrested persons is a local resident and has been jailed in the past as well in a liquor-related case.
For interrogation, police have also detained accused Shiv Chandra Paswan’s wife and daughter.
Police confirmed that the deaths and loss of eyesight happened due to the consumption of spurious alcohol.
Earlier this year in April, a shocking case was reported from Bihar’e Motihari district where at least 5 people died after consuming illicitly made liquor while twelve others were rushed to a local hospital in critical condition.
The incident was reported from Laxmipur Village of Motihari district in Bihar. The cases of spurious liquor creating hazardous health problems and death of people in Bihar have been in focus for quite some months now. Earlier in January this year it was reported from Siwan that four people died post consuming the spurious liquor after which the Police arrested 16 people who were involved in the storage and trading of alcohol in the state.
Purchase, sale and trade of liquor stands banned in Bihar since April 2016 after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took this move to impose a complete prohibition on the sale and consumption of alcohol in the state.
India News
Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi says India-Middle East-Europe corridor will become future basis of world trade
The India-Middle East-Europe corridor will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come and history will always remember that the corridor was initiated on Indian soil, said PM Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 105th episode of Mann Ki Baat said that the India-Middle East-Europe corridor will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come and history will always remember that the corridor was initiated on Indian soil.
On September 24 in his monthly Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi also talked about Chandrayaan-3’s success and urged all citizens to participate in the Chandrayaan-3 Mahaquiz, a unique opportunity to learn and celebrate India’s lunar mission. Let’s embark on this cosmic adventure together, he added.
PM Modi said throughout the year, programmes related to G20 were held at numerous universities in the country. Now in this series, another exciting programme is about to take place in Delhi, which is G20 University Connect Programme, he said.
Speaking about World Tourism Day, he said two days from now, 27th September, is World Tourism Day. Some people view tourism just as a means of touring and travelling, but a very big aspect of tourism is related to employment, the Prime Minister further said.
He further talked about temples in Karnataka. PM Modi said a few days ago, that Shantiniketan and the holy Hoysala temple of Karnataka have been declared world heritage sites by UNESCO. He extended his greetings to the countrymen on this feat.
During the G20 Summit in New Delhi, US principal deputy national security advisor Jon Finer announced an unprecedented and ground-breaking infrastructure initiative involving a railway and shipping corridor that will improve trade, energy, and digital connectivity.
Speaking to reporters, Finer drew an indirect but striking comparison between China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the project, saying it will close a significant infrastructure gap and be high-standards, transparent, sustainable, non-coercive and based on the demand signal from the region instead of being an imposition.
BRI is heavily attacked for entangling nations in unmanageable debt, as well as for being opaque, forceful, and sacrificing standards.
Finer claimed that the project is consistent with the greater West Asian agenda of the Joe Biden administration.
