MALAPPURAM: In a decisive step towards safeguarding maternal and neonatal health, prominent Islamic scholars and the Malappuram district administration have jointly come out against home births, saying the methodology don’t have a religious mandate.

The statement comes in response to an alarming rise in unsafe home deliveries reported across parts of the district. The issue was addressed at a high-level meeting involving senior Islamic scholars, health officials, and District Collector V R Premkumar.

“Islam gives paramount importance to the sanctity of life and health. There is no justification in our religion for avoiding hospital births when medical care is accessible,” a scholar said at the meeting. Religious leaders stressed that misinterpretations linking home births with Islamic practice are baseless and potentially dangerous.

“There is no religious obligation in Islam that requires women to give birth at home,” said a religious leader from Kottakkal at the meeting. “On the contrary, Islam encourages us to utilise all available means to protect life and prevent harm. Choosing hospital delivery when needed is not just permissible, it is advisable and necessary,” he added.

Dist to intensify efforts

The collector said that unsupervised home deliveries have resulted in multiple complications, some life-threatening. “The district will intensify efforts to raise awareness and ensure access to institutional delivery facilities, especially in rural and underserved communities,” he said.

The collector announced that ASHA workers and health personnel will be tasked with proactively identifying and guiding pregnant women towards hospital-based deliveries. Additionally, joint initiatives with local mosques, madrassas, and community centres will be launched to counter misinformation.

The collaborative approach has already garnered support from local NGOs and women-welfare groups, who have welcomed efforts to align health outreach with religious understanding.

Despite significant progress in maternal healthcare across Kerala, pockets of resistance to hospital births persist, driven by misinformation, lack of awareness, and socio-cultural pressures.