The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

HEALTH

BODY & MIND
For your bundle of joy
Tripti Nath

The would-be mothers can now opt for world class birthing facilities at boutique birthing centres in the country. The Apollo Hospitals Group and Sunrise Medicare, promoted by the Burman family of Dabur India have teamed up to set up the first specialised maternity care centre in Greater Kailash Part II.

The first centre is expected to be set up within two months. The centres have been named The Cradle and promise to revolutionise maternity care by providing home-like ambience, personalised attention, compassionate staff members and hygienic conditions.

The Cradle promises single room maternity care providing Labour, Delivery and Recovery rooms. This saves the woman the trouble of moving from one room to another. Each room has a modern birthing bed, which can be adjusted to provide maximum comfort during labour and optimal positioning during delivery. It includes a comfortable recliner, a rocking chair and television and music to enable the mother relax. The Cradle offers a range of accommodation options for postpartum care. These include spacious suites with attendant rooms, super deluxe and deluxe rooms. Taking care of apprehensions related to labour pain and delivery, the specialised centres will provide women the option of painless delivery through analgesia and epidural anaesthesia (which numbs the lower half of the body).

Mr Ratan Jalan, Chief Executive Officer, Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited says, “A visit to a hospital is normally associated with a trauma or a disease. Childbirth, in contrast, is an event, which is one the most natural phenomenon. At Apollo, we see childbirth as a joyful experience. The Cradle does not wear the look of a hospital.”

Mr Jalan says that Apollo plans to set up eight birthing centres across Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mumbai.

Apart from a multi-disciplinary team of medical consultants and specialists in endocrinology, cardiology, urology, nutrition, physiotherapy and trained nursing staff, the centres will benefit from the experience of Dr Raghuram Malliah, Neonatologist from Hammersmith Hospital, London. Dr Malliah is a full-time consultant with The Cradle.

Grant for HIV prevention

Avahan, the Indian AIDS initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has announced a fresh grant of $ 47 million (Rs 216 crore) to support HIV prevention programmes for vulnerable populations in Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland and Tamil Nadu.

The grants were announced on Monday by Rajat Gupta, Senior Partmer of McKinsey & Company and co chair of the Avahan Programme Board and Ashok Alexander, Director of Avahan after a meeting of the programme board. The Gates Foundation has committed $ 200 million (Rs 920) crore) to HIV prevention in India through Avahan. This is the foundation’s largest commitment to HIV/AIDS in any country.

Mr Anand Grover, member, AVAHAN Programme Board, says that Avahan will now support urgently needed HIV prevention programmes in six states with the highest HIV prevalence as well as the key points along the National Highways. The states, which have the highest HIV prevalence rate, are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland and Tamil Nadu.

LDL Subfraction Test

Dr Lal Path Labs, a large chain of diagnostic laboratories, has introduced LDL Subfraction Test for detecting the cause of Coronoary Artery Disease (CAD).

According to experts, the cholesterol level in normal course is tested by lipid profile (LDL test). Higher the cholesterol level, higher is the risk of CAD. The normal cholesterol level (130 mg/dl), however, cannot be conclusive.

Even in cases where the LDL or cholesterol level is between 100 and 130 mg/dl, the person may run the risk of heart disease. Eighty per cent of CAD deaths in India have normal cholesterol levels. LDL and HDL are names of two major varieties of lipoproteins. LDL denotes ‘low density lipoprotein’ and HDL denotes high density lipoprotein. In the bloodstream, bad cholesterol is carried in LDL and good cholesterol is carried in HDL. When LDL cholesterol levels are too high, the LDL tends to stick to the lining of the blood vessels. This leads to hardening of the arteries.

LDL Subfraction Test is a measure of minute dense particles present in the arteries, which are not detected by normal lipid profiles. The test provides details of these dense particles and helps in understanding the risk factors. The LDL Subfraction Test is done by taking a blood sample at any of the laboratories or collection centres. The NCR region alone has about 100 collection centres. The total testing time of one batch of samples is about three hours. The test costs Rs 3,000 and the reports come within four days. CAD is a major killer all over the world.

Recent research indicates that Indians are more susceptible to CAD than their wsetern counterparts. This is mainly due to crumbling healthy food pyramid, stress and sedentary lifestyle. The number of Indians suffering from CAD has already touched 45 million.

SPORTS

South Delhi down Winsome Club in DDCA League
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, March 20
An unbeaten century by Adil Ahmad and a delightful 84 not out by Rakesh Singh helped South Delhi defeat Winsome Club by nine wickets in a DDCA Super A Division match at the Yamuna Sports Complex ground.

Scores: Winsome Club: 212 for 4 in 40 overs (Rabin Bisht 86 n o, Chetan Bisht 31, Akshay Singh 28). South Delhi: 214 for 1 in 16.4 overs (Adil Ahmad 102 n o, Rakesh Singh 84 n o).

Darling Club defeated R R Gymkhana by 138 runs in a Super A Division match at the Mohan Meakins ground.

Scores: Darling Club: 269 for 9 in 40 overs (Suhail Rauf 113, Utkarsh Gautam 40, Sandeep Rana 35, Vivek Khurana 3 for 32).

Rohtak Road Gymkhana: 131 all out in 36.4 overs (Agnesh Surya 56, Nitin Kumar 4 for 5, Manish Sharma 2 for 21).

National Stadium Coaching Centre defeated Bright Club by nine wickets in a Super A Division match at the Mohan Meakins ground.

Scores: Bright Club: 208 for 7 in 40 overs (Sanjay Bamal 53, Vivek Kumar 33, Manvinder Singh 2 for 35).

National Stadium: 210 for 1 in 31.3 overs (Randeep Singh 101, Maninder Singh 62 n o).

Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) defeated Daryaganj by 102 runs in a Super A Division match at the Yamuna Sports Complex ground.

Scores: ONGC: 303 for 5 in 40 overs (Amit Sharma 78, Amit Duleep 64 n o, Gautam Vadera 53, Kapil Mehta 2 for 45). Daryaganj: 201 for 8 in 40 overs (Jagdish Singh 55, Raju Grewal 35, Nitesh Malik 3 for 32).

National Seminar on Yoga and Sports begins
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, March 20
A National Seminar on Yoga and Sports was inaugurated by All-India Council of Sports president Prof Vijay Kumar Malhotra at the Talkatora swimming pool complex on Saturday.

The seminar is being organised by the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy in association with the Yoga Confederation of India and General Association of National Sports Federations.

The inaugural function was attended by secretary, Department of Ayush, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, president of YCI Dr Gopal, Sports Authority of India executive director M. K. Mishra, Arjuna Awardee Subroto Rai and prominent yoga practitioners and over 150 delegates from all over the country. Dr B. T. Chidananda Murthy, director of CCRYN, welcomed the participants.

Prof Malhotra, dwelling on the importance of yoga in everyday life, said it could be used as an important medium to promote various sports disciplines. He said willpower and concentration can be developed with the practice of yoga.