PUNE: After testing the waters in the rural areas, the state government has rolled its scheme to offer free sonography test to every pregnant woman in the urban areas by roping in private radiologists and sonologists.“We initially implemented the scheme in the state’s rural parts. Now, we have directed civic health officials in Maharashtra to involve private sonologists to provide free sonography test to every pregnant woman within their jurisdictions,” a senior state health official of the State Family Welfare Bureau said.Under the scheme, private radiologists and sonologists willing to offer sonography test at Rs 400 will have to register themselves or make a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the municipal corporation health officials.Anjali Sabne, assistant medical officer of health, Pune Municipal Corporation , said, “We have received the state’s directive, dated July 2, to involve private sonologists for providing free sonography test to every pregnant woman in Pune city. Two sonologists have already started providing the services . We will be getting more sonologists on board soon.”The government’s decision assumes significance in the light of sizable number of pregnant women skipping the crucial test as the government hospitals are overburdened and the cost of the test in private establishments is beyond their reach.The scheme is being implemented as per the directives of the Union government under the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA).The scheme aims to provide quality ante-natal care to all pregnant women in the second and the third trimester of the pregnancy.“A pregnant woman can develop life-threatening complications with little or no advance warning. So, all pregnant women need access to quality antenatal services to detect and prevent life-threatening complications during childbirth,” radiologist Jignesh Thakkar, the past president of Indian Radiological and Imaging Association, said.“The scheme faced some problems in the state’s rural parts initially. However, it is doing well now,” he added.

Stay updated with all the Pune Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.