The incident of a woman dying due to haemorrhage after giving birth at home without medical care or attention is a reminder to Malayalis, who are always proud of the 'Kerala Model' in the health sector, about health precautions. Asma, a native of Vandanam, Alappuzha, lost her life during childbirth after being denied medical care due to her husband's superstitions and misconceptions. Asma gave birth to her fifth child the other day at her in-laws' house in Chattipparamba, Malappuram. The relatives became suspicious of the actions of the husband who arrived at Asma's house in Perumbavoor with the body of his wife, who had died during childbirth, wrapped in a mat and carrying the newborn baby covered in blood. It was they who informed the police. With that, Sirajuddin's plan to secretly conduct the burial collapsed and the incident came to light.

The police, who had registered a case of unnatural death on the complaint of relatives that Asma's death was due to a failure to admit her to the hospital or provide her with emergency medical care during the delivery, took Sirajuddin into custody in Perumbavoor and brought him to Malappuram. The Malappuram police yesterday charged him with murder. Three of Asma's five children were born at home. Sirajuddin, an acupuncture graduate who was averse to modern medical treatments, had advertised himself as a person with supernatural powers. It is known that he has also spread superstitions and misconceptions through his YouTube channel called 'Madavoor Qafila'. This means that what happened from Sirajuddin was not just thoughtlessness or negligence, but a dangerous and criminal act in the name of some beliefs.

It should be remembered that the benchmark for measuring the excellence of the health sector of a country or state is not the availability of modern treatment for serious diseases, but the maternal and child mortality rate. Kerala is the state with the lowest neonatal mortality rate and maternal mortality rate during childbirth in the country. While the maternal mortality rate during childbirth is 97 per lakh at the national level, it is only 19 in Kerala. The neonatal mortality rate is only six per thousand (national average 26). This excellence is given to us not only by the availability of public health systems, the efficiency of the primary health sector, and special schemes for the health protection of pregnant women but also by general health awareness. What is shocking is the RTI data that shows that the number of people who gave birth at home without medical assistance in the same Kerala in the last four and a half years is 2931. Eighteen of the babies born in this way succumbed to their deaths.

Since childbirth is not an unexpected biological event, not providing medical assistance to ensure safe delivery is a deliberate crime. We must bow our heads in shame before the reality that it is often religious or faith-based ignorance behind not seeking medical assistance. In Kerala, which is at the forefront of health awareness and ranks first in the availability of state-of-the-art treatment facilities, is it not because of the lack of vigilance of each of us that there is room for misconceptions? There are so many people like Sirajuddin who spread false propaganda through social media. They all have thousands of followers! Why can't action be taken by considering such acts as a criminal offence? Awareness and misconceptions do not go together. Knowledge is not enough, we must first understand that there must be awareness.