Tamil Nadu govt offers siddha cure for expectant mothers

After the success of the herbal health medicine for dengue, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has taken the lead in introducing a herbal drug called ‘Amma pregnancy Sanjeevini (Amma Magapperu Sanjeevini)’.

The CM made this announcement in the Tamil Nadu assembly earlier, where she had outlined the benefits of herbal medicine during the different stages of gestation. Calling Sanjeevini a medical treasure from Siddha medicine, the chief minister said this would cost the State government exchequer Rs.10 crore per annum.

Tamil Nadu Medical Plant Farms and Herbal Medicine Corporation (TAMPCOL) has taken up the manufacture of Sanjeevini. Under this programme, the mothers-to-be will be given pomegranate and curry leaf powder during the first trimester, gooseberry powder and eladi churnam (a digestive mix) in the second, and a medicine to increase lactation in the last stage of pregnancy and post-pregnancy. A senior health official said that the drugs would soon be made available in the 43 medical college hospitals, 31 district hospitals, 267 taluk and non-taluk hospitals, 1,751 primary health centres spread across the state.