Lucknow, July 14 (IANS)  The Uttar Pradesh government will provide training to MBBS doctors in two key areas — Comprehensive emergency obstetrics and newborn care (CEmONC) and life-saving aesthetic skills.

Aiming to reduce maternal and child mortality, the training in CEmONC will enable doctors to provide timely and effective care to pregnant women and newborns experiencing complications.

The training in life-saving aesthetic skills will equip doctors to safely administer anaesthesia during childbirth and other procedures, added officials.

Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak, who also holds the health portfolio, has instructed the health department to ensure the necessary arrangements for training MBBS doctors and posting them in first referral units (FRUs).

He said that these measures will help reduce maternal and child mortality in the state. “Important steps are being taken to address the shortage of specialist doctors. MBBS doctors are being trained alongside recruitment,” said Pathak.

“This will eliminate the need to unnecessarily refer the mother and child to larger hospitals,” he added.

According to the registrar general of India (RGI), the infant mortality rate in UP was 41 per 1,000 live births in 2019. The state government is making efforts to reduce it, officials said. Once trained, MBBS doctors will be posted in first referral units. FRUs are primary healthcare facilities that offer basic obstetric and newborn care. Posting trained doctors in FRUs will ensure that pregnant women and newborns receive the necessary care, even in rural areas, officials said.