LifeSpring Hospitals: Providing Affordable, Quality Maternity Care to India’s Middle Class

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Last year, when 24-year-old Madhuri Satyanarayan, a resident of Neredmet village in Andhra Pradesh, found out that she was pregnant, her joy was tempered with anxiety about the medical costs. At the nearby private hospital where she went for her check–ups, the cost of delivery was estimated to be around US$500. Her monthly household income was less than US$150. Seven months into her pregnancy, Satyanarayan heard about LifeSpring, a chain of maternity hospitals, and switched over. In July, she had a cesarean section delivery and gave birth to a baby boy. The delivery at LifeSpring cost her US$180. “We are happy with the decision we made. The hospital room was nice, the staff was friendly and most importantly, we were treated with respect,” she says. Both the young mother and the newborn are in good health.

Not everyone in India is so fortunate. A recent report by the National Institute of Medical Statistics points out that India has failed to reach its goal of reducing infant mortality rate to 28 per 1,000 live births by 2012. The report adds that the country is unlikely to achieve this target until the end of 2016. According to a study titled, “Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2010,” published earlier this year by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund and the World Bank, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in India for 2010 was 200 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.

Source: Knowledge@Wharton (link opens in a new window)

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