This Article is From Aug 30, 2010

Delay having baby, get honeymoon package

Satara: It's a win-win scheme. The Maharashtra government has a proposal for newly-married couples in Satara district - put off having a baby for a few years and get paid for it. It is called the Honeymoon Package.

Delayed childbirth means better health for women. But in much of India, young men and women are under social and filial pressure to start a family immediately. An elderly woman in Satara says of a newly wed, "She must have a baby within the first year of marriage. What will everyone say?"

Health workers are fanned out in the district to try and change this attitude. Armed with the Honeymoon Package.

The pitch: "If you delay having your first child by two years the government will give you Rs 5000. And if you have your child after 3 years you will get Rs 7500." The scheme began in 2008 and over 2000 couples from Satara district have enrolled since.

Indira Bhonsale, a health worker says, "Earlier families would resist us very strongly. Now at least they are willing to listen."

At first it was the money that attracted couples. Now, many have become aware of the health benefits and are signing up despite family pressure.

Komolita Raut, who lives in Shirval village, says, "My mother in law is insisting I have a baby right away. But I want to delay it because it's better for my health and my baby's health."

Health authorities believe the innovative soft approach has helped counter mindsets. "The birth rate in Satara now is 15.6 %...Earlier it was 17% so it is having some impact on the birth rate," says the District Health Officer of Satara, Dr Bhagawan Pawar.

Teams from other states, among them Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, are now studying the Satara project. And the Maharashtra government plans to extend it across the state.
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