Help a Mother, Save a Baby (HAMSAB)

HAMSAB, Help A Mother, Save A Baby, project started in 2002 in Dahisar (East) and works for high risk pregnant mothers towards reducing infant and maternal mortality rates, as well as ensuring low morbidity rates among children. It is a thirty-month sponsorship program for pregnant mothers identified with high risk pregnancies. It aims towards safe motherhood. This includes supplementary nutrition and nutrition education. It also aims at providing counseling, nutrition, information, health education and referral services. Activities include:

Home Visits: To motivate women for timely registration at the municipal hospitals/maternity homes . To provide information on ANC and PNC. To follow up on health problems. To mobilise women for the program and build a rapport with them. ANC Check ups: To supervise the health of the mother and foetus. To detect high-risk mothers in time so they can be referred and treated.

To educate mothers on health practices during pregnancy and to prepare them for labour and delivery.
This includes a birth plan and how to care for newborn infants.

PNC Check ups:
Care for mothers and their newborn as they are vulnerable to a new set of risks. Both need rest and
good nutrition to recover from the delivery.
Provide information on breast-feeding and nutrition.

Nutrition Demonstrations:
To give women knowledge on low cost nutrition to ensure their children receive nutritious food.

Awareness Sessions:
Information on disease control and prevention for women to be aware of common health problems.  Sessions are organized on preventable diseases, water borne diseases, HIV/AIDS, immunizations,    family planning, breast-feeding, home based care and ANC/PNC.