To improve sex ratio, Gujarat hospital offers to waive charges for girl child

AHMEDABAD: Congratulations, it's a baby girl — you will have to pay no hospital bill! This is a special offer from a Ahmedabad-based hospital to make parents value and feel special about the girl child in a state reeling under a skewed child sex ratio of 890 girls per 1,000 boys.

Run by Sindhu Sewa Samaj, 30-year-old Sindhu Hospital launched this new initiative last month. Over 150 couples have already registered for delivery which otherwise carries a price tag of Rs 7,000 for normal birth and Rs 20,000 for a C-section.

"For years, we observed that majority of women who got admitted for delivery hoped and prayed for a boy. Sweets would be distributed on birth of a male child but a girl's arrival would be met with stoic acceptance. The trust decided it was time to celebrate arrival of a daughter," said Mahadev Lohana, managing director of Sindhu Hospital.

Komal Reddy, who has registered for delivery at the hospital, said: "There is no girl born in our family since past 35 years. I am praying I get a baby girl."

The hospital has also made a provision to return to the parents Rs 1,100, which it charges as registration fee, if a girl is born. It also celebrates her arrival by throwing a small party for the relatives where a cake is cut and snacks are served.

"The country and every community needs to celebrate birth of a girl. Even in Sindhi samaj, there are nearly 850 girls per 1,000 boys. This has to change," said Lohana.

The hospital's initiative is an addition to small but positive measures taken by some hospitals and doctors across the state to 'save the girl child'.