Since it launched in 2016, the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) has given free antenatal care to more than 7.91 crore pregnant women. Along the way, it’s flagged over 1.24 crore high-risk pregnancies early enough for doctors to actually do something about them. The whole point of the scheme is to make sure pregnant women, wherever they live, can get proper checkups and specialist care through the public health system rather than going without.
How the scheme works on the ground
Every 9th of the month, designated public health facilities, District Hospitals, Sub-District Hospitals, Community Health Centres, and Primary Health Centres, run PMSMA sessions. Women coming in get checkups, medicines, lab tests, ultrasounds and time with a specialist, all free. There’s also group counselling on nutrition, delivering in a hospital, and breastfeeding. On top of that, the scheme leans on private obstetricians and retired specialists who volunteer their time on these fixed days.
What’s actually changed since 2016
The numbers back up the effort. India’s Maternal Mortality Ratio has dropped from 130 per one lakh live births in 2014-16 to 87 per one lakh live births in 2022-24, based on Sample Registration System data. Women registering for antenatal care in their first trimester jumped from 58.6% to 76.2% between NFHS-4 and NFHS-6. The share getting four or more antenatal visits climbed from about 51% to just over 65%, and institutional deliveries, meaning women giving birth in a hospital rather than at home, rose from 78.9% to 90.6% over the same stretch.
Catching high-risk pregnancies early
To go further on this front, the government rolled out an extended version, e-PMSMA, built around spotting high-risk pregnancies early and then not losing track of them. Once a pregnancy is flagged as high-risk, it’s followed individually all the way through delivery and for 45 days after, using a centralised digital system to keep tabs on it.
Women in this category get three extra antenatal checkups, automatic SMS reminders so they don’t miss follow-ups, a referral to the nearest First Referral Unit for a safer delivery, and help covering transport costs to get there. All of it is meant to catch problems before they become emergencies.
Building out the system itself
Beyond the fixed monthly day, facilities now run additional PMSMA sessions when needed. The PMSMA Portal tracks women by name digitally, and healthcare workers are getting better training to spot risk factors earlier. National and state governments keep an eye on how things are running, and awareness campaigns, IEC and BCC activities, are meant to get more women through the door in the first place.
Bringing private healthcare into the fold
The scheme doesn’t rely on public facilities alone. Private practitioners can sign up through a centralised portal, and the ‘I Pledge for 9’ Achievers Awards recognize those who volunteer their time. The government also works alongside professional bodies like FOGSI and the Indian Medical Association to widen the pool of doctors involved.
Key Takeaway: Ten years in, PMSMA has moved the needle on some of the numbers that matter most in maternal health, fewer deaths, earlier checkups, more hospital deliveries. Pairing free antenatal care with a system built to catch high-risk pregnancies early looks to be part of why those improvements have held up over time.
MCQ’s:
1. Under the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), free antenatal care services are provided on which day of every month?
A. 1st
B. 5th
C. 9th
D. 15th
2. The primary objective of the e-PMSMA initiative is to:
A. Promote institutional deliveries only
B. Digitally monitor and manage high-risk pregnancies from identification until the post-delivery period
C. Provide financial assistance to pregnant women
D. Increase the number of medical colleges in rural areas
