The High Risk Pregnancy Tracking System in Bundi, Rajasthan, aims to monitor the health of women with high risk pregnancies in the district and ensure that they receive timely assistance and care.

Bundi district in Rajasthan has a very high rate of maternal mortality due to the prevalent illiteracy among women and the general lack of awareness of pregnancy related risks. In order to address this problem, the district administration designed the High Risk Pregnancy Tracking System in April 2011 to identify women undergoing difficult pregnancies and ensure that they receive adequate and timely healthcare services so as to avoid complications during delivery.

Under the programme, a medical survey of pregnant women is conducted and on the basis of which, high risk cases are identified. Rural health workers keep a track of these women and alerting the community and family members about their situation. Health workers also maintain a list with the complete details of high risk cases, which is regularly checked by the district medical officers who ensure that the required assistance is extended to the expecting mothersand that periodic tests are conducted to check their haemoglobin level, blood pressure and weight.

The implementation of the High Risk Pregnancy Tracking System did not require major changes in district health activities and the system leveraged existing financial and human resources to cover additional responsibilities in a simple yet effective manner. The new system has reduced the number of maternal deaths in Bundi from 48 in 2009-10 to 28 in 2011-12. Based on the success of the initiative, the Medical and Health Department of Rajasthan has issued orders to all the hospitals of the state to implement the High Risk Pregnancy Tracking System.

This case study was published in July 2012.

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