Mumbai Gyno

Too posh to push!

2012-01-21T09:02:00.000-08:00

With Aishwarya Rai Bacchan recently giving birth to a baby girl, the natural way- no Caesarean, no chosen birth date- of her own birthday or the much sought after 11/11/11 newspapers were abuzz with this 'abnormal' mode of delivering a superstar. After all she would be ‘too posh to push’.

And reporters could no longer flog the story of the greedy and lazy gynaecologist who waits on patients with a knife, ready to do a caesarean on any woman who does not oblige by popping out her babies at a convenient time.

Here is a gyno’s end of the true story – to do or not to do … a Caesarean section.

It’s true the rates of caesarean sections have gone up all over the world. I think this is why:

1]Forewarned is forearmed: Sonography etc

Plenty of investigations like sonographies and blood tests are available to us today that can warn in advance of babies who are growth restricted, too large, badly positioned or have loops of umbilical cord round their neck and could have problems with a vaginal birth.

2] Bigger is not better

With mothers being given tons of supplements their babies are sometimes too large for their pelvic structure and cannot be delivered ‘normally’

3]The Test-tube baby epidemic

Assisted reproduction [ test tube babies] have made it possible for women who otherwise would never have conceived, to have their own child. These are ‘precious’ babies often twins , conceived after years of trying and with slim chances of having another one and no doctor or patient in their right minds would leave anything to chance.- A planned caesarean with a team of doctors to attend on the baby is what makes the most sense.

4] No prizes just lawsuits

With women working and small family sizes, patients & doctors tend to avoid difficult vaginal births that could damage the baby’s brain causing cerebral palsies [spasticity], weakness in limbs [ paralysis] or mental retardation. Medico legal issues also force us to be liberal with caesareans.

5] Surgery made easy

With modern antibiotics, blood transfusion, good suture materials, and experience, complications from a caesarean section have become rare. It is often the better option in difficult cases. The mother could also suffer incontinence [inability to control urine or stool] or fistulae in badly done vaginal births as well as suffer severe tears, rupture her uterus and have excessive bleeding after wrongly applied forceps or other manuoevres.

6] Short is sweet where labour goes

It is true to some extent that doctors tend to finish up and go home for the simple reason that baby outcomes are better when labour is shorter-We are taught ‘A labouring mother must not see two sunrises or sunsets’

7] The scarred uterus

With so many surgeries being done on the uterus like caesareans, fibroid removals, unification of two uteri, patients risk their uterus bursting at the scar and we cannot take chances with the life of both the baby and the mother.

So what’s really happening? Are we doing more caesareans than vaginal births?

The answer is a simple NO. Why not? I just said its best for the baby!

1] The hen that lays golden eggs

In India gynaecologists treat not just a patient but an entire neighbourhood. 3 generations of women from the extended family are looked after by the same doctor. A scissor happy doctor would be dropped like a hot potato. One unnecessary caesarean means a chunk of patients lost. And yes the competition is cut throat.

2] Because I can

The word ‘Obstetrics’ means to stand by. Or wait patiently while a woman delivers, gently helping her ease her baby out into the world. We are trained to wait. And in India with its huge population, a gynaecologist in training does every kind of difficult delivery multiple times. We are trained to do it. We have to do it to please the family. So really no reason for us not to do it.

3]If it’s good it’s not news

According to the 4^th estate, women demand caesareans because they don’t want to suffer the pain of childbirth or they don’t want to get ‘loose down there’. This is not true at all. In all these years, I have had only one patient – a doctor who insisted on a caesarean-though to be fair to her, she had conceived with difficulty, her baby threatened to come out early and was growth restricted. She was anxious for the baby’s well being. Most women want a ‘normal’ delivery and start crying as if they have failed in some way, when we tell them we need to do a caesarean. A well done and properly stitched delivery does not make a woman lose perineal muscle tone. And an abdominal surgery will always be more painful with longer recovery times than a vaginal birth.

4] Magic potions

With prostaglandins- a new group of drugs that make the cervix open up and oxytocin- a hormone that makes the uterus contract, deliveries can be timed and labour cut short by several hours. Added to these are excellent analgesia techniques that remove the pain and relax the muscles helping us to carry out deliveries with ease.

5] Self help

Restricting supplements to essentials, controlling a woman’s sugar levels, helping her take an appropriate diet, avoiding excess weight gain and encouraging her to exercise and be active also contributes to better vaginal birth rates. Preparing the breasts for lactation by massaging the nipples releases oxytocin and helps the baby’s head to enter the birth canal and the patient to deliver on time.

6] The art of Obstetrics.

We all have our egos. And take pride in doing a difficult job well. So delivering a baby vaginally is an art as well as a science that most of us are happy to practice-though not at the cost of the patient’s well being. This is just another reason why a doctor would prefer a vaginal delivery.

To sum it up, most Gynaecologists or rather Obstetricians will try to give a woman a natural birth, but where needed, they will not be tardy in doing a caesarean. Trust your doctor to do his or her best. No doctor would like to give you treatment that’s worse than your disease. No patient is too posh to push and no doctor too lazy to pull.

Quality control of Conferences

2011-03-25T03:21:00.000-07:00

'Whatever you do, do it well.'
This is the principle I and my friends were taught-by parents, grand parents and teachers.
The recent Common wealth games sadly brought to the notice of India and the world that Indians believe problems will sort themselves out. And embarrassed a young nation with shabby construction and toilets. And corruption and poor hygiene standards.
The west used to laugh at Japanese goods, till the Japanese took care of quality-in their cars, electronics and everything.
In the movie 127 hrs, the hero uses a Chinese knife to cut stone and then curses it for being Chinese and regrets leaving his Swiss knife at home-as if the Swiss knife would cut the boulder! Western nations never miss an opportunity to criticise Chinese goods.
India escapes this criticism because we don't make that many finished goods.
But the quality of what we produce, would even make the Chinese laugh.
A recent decree by the Medical Council of India has made it mandatory for Indian doctors to attend conferences and get credit points to renew their licence to practice.
There is hence a mad rush to attend all conferences.
But the MCI would do well to evaluate conferences that they are forcing us to attend.
Most speakers are chosen from among the elected committee members of the body organising the conferences or their friends.
The topic the speaker speaks on is sometimes not of their core competency, or a field where the speaker has researched. Occasionally, the entire talk is downloaded from the Net or books or Journals or prepared by the company whose product the speaker uses. As a result the audience gets no information about the actual practical issues in a topic or can well read up the topic themselves without attending the conference!
Most speakers have a set of prepared subjects that they keep repeating all the time. So we hear the same things at various conferences for years on the end.
The same thing is seen with panel discussions/workshops/debates-tremendous repetition of inconsequential data.
To all the Presidents and managing committee members of various medical organisations-past, present and future, may I offer the following suggestions to make the conference worth our while when we leave our patients, families and leisure to come and listen to you?
1. Choose the topics and the sub topics for the conference well-let it be approved by atleast 2 more members so as to be relevant and practical to an average gynaecologist while highlighting newer fields and problem areas.e.g High Intensity Focussed Ultrasound with MRI guidance. Pelvic floor repair. The latest in Ovulation Induction.
2. Get Surgeons, Physicians, Anaesthetists, Urologists, Embryologists-all the people from allied fields to talk and let this be followed up by a talk by a Gynaecologist who has extensive experience in the same field. e.g. Cholecystectomy/ Appendectomy/ Multi drug resistant TB/ Malaria in pregnancy
3. Instead of saving up money for the organisation, spend it to get good international speakers who are actually doing path breaking research in their fields. Members fees come from their tax-they won't mind paying a bit more. Pharma companies are more than happy to help. Organise for more people instead of closing limited registrations.
4. For all the time and energy spent by managing committee members, don't give them meaningless lectures but let them get extra credit points for organising a conference. They can also be given preference for a lecture if they are doing work in the area.
5. Invite talks from all ordinary gynaecologists-let them present the jist of their talk beforehand and let it be approved by the managing committee before the person is given the opportunity e.g. removal of large fibroids through a minilaparotomy incision using a tonsillar knife to core out the fibroid.
6. Have a feedback form for the audience-speakers who get very adverse comments should not be repeated. e.g. a speaker who showed several different incisions for a caesarean section but had no explanation for choosing those incisions. Overseas speakers who are incomprehensible. Speakers who quote fake statistics, exceed their time and repeat their talk too often.
7. Introducing some standards like ISO 9000 towards conferences will help improve the level of the conferences.
In today's information age where all lead journals are available at the click of a button, conferences will be relevant only if they highlight actual work and practical problems faced.
Conferences are for the benefit of the audience and not for the speakers or organisers.

Whites-Do's and dont's

2010-12-21T08:05:00.001-08:00

‘Doc, I wish I had come to you earlier. I just didn’t know who to talk to this about’-is a common refrain of many women to their Gynaecologist.
Most of my patients come to me after suffering a while, because they are too shy to talk about their illnesses even to their mothers or daughters.
A common ailment across age groups is white discharge from the vagina. The medical term used is 'Leucorrhoea' but commonly referred to as Whites.
Excessive discharge is normal during the middle part of the menstrual cycle-when a sticky strand may stretch even outside the vagina-this disappears soon after the egg bursts from your ovary.
It is also normal to have discharge at time of sexual arousal and in pregnancy.
In late pregnancy, excess vaginal discharge may be a sign of onset of labour or may be a break in the 'bag of waters' that surrounds your baby-warranting a visit to the hospital.
In young girls prior to onset of periods, excessive discharge may be due to a foreign body-beads, toy parts or grains in the vagina-this needs to be checked out by a doctor who can telescopically remove the same.
In women of reproductive age group, the commonest cause of whites is a vaginal infection.
Three types of usual infections are – fungal, trichomonal or bacterial.
Thrush/yeast/fungal/ candidiasis/moniliasis is the commonest.
This occurs when the normal bacteria in the vagina which maintain acidic environment die out -as following antibiotic therapy. This also occurs if vaginal acids are neutralised by alkaine semen [after frequent sexual intercourse] or taking alkalinisers for urinary infections. Yeast thrives in a moist, sugary environment that happens after exercise, in summer or the monsoons or after binging on sweets or in diabetics. Tight clothes, synthetic materials & excessive pubic hair, trap moisture, create friction, damage skin and encourage fungal growth.
Thrush is seen a curd like discharge that doesn't smell too much and is accompanied by itching and soreness and burning while urinating.
Trichomoniasis is sexually transmitted, accompanied by profuse greenish, frothy discharge and dyspareunia-pain during sexual intercourse.[though this can occur in any vaginal infection-its severity isgreater in Trichomoniasis.] Partner treatment is important here else chances of a recurrence are high.
Bacterial vaginitis may cause a foul smelling, greyish or yellowish discharge and needs local and/or oral antibiotics.
The cervix which is the mouth of the uterus may have an ulcer, a growth or an erosion[ overgrowth of mucus producing inner lining] which causes the discharge or may be elongated and herniated-this needs to be thoroughly checked and surgically treated .
Sometimes a fibroid in the uterus or a swollen fluid filled fallopian tube may also cause vaginal discharge and would show up on sonography.The treatment options for these would be put before you by your gynaecologist.
To reduce the spread of HIV, which either partner is more likely to get, if there is unprotected intercourse in the presence vaginal infection, doctors or sometimes nurses adopt a 'syndromic approach' to treatment-they treat all three types of infection with a combined vaginal tablet or a kit of oral medicines.
Worms migrate from the bowel to the vagina, carrying with them germs that may cause an infection. This is common in India and sometimes, deworming helps relieve the infection. It also helps improve your nutrition and resistance in general.
Other sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhoea, herpes or syphilis may also present as a white discharge. Your doctor may order tests before starting treatment.
Older women who lose hormonal support and hence have thin vaginal skin, may need short term or local hormonal therapy besides treating their infection.
Even a mild vaginal infection can spread to the uterus, pelvis and blood and have serious consequences especially in pregnancy or after a surgery. Vaginitis also makes you prone to other infections. Hence it needs to be treated quickly, and completely.
Some simple things you can do to avoid repeated infections are:
Cut the sugars from your diet
Trim your nails-fungal spores and worms eggs get caught under long nails, and reinfect you by an itch-scratch cycle.
Keep you hair trimmed down there for hygiene-to avoid trapping moisture and germs
Use cotton inners-natural fibres breathe and keep you dry avoiding frequent infections.
Use tissues to gently dab yourself dry after passing urine, instead of washing with water.
Wash after intercourse if you are not trying for a baby and dab yourself dry.
Loose clothes like skirts, Parallels, or Salwars or Sarees are better than tightly fitted trousers or Churidars. Jeans, Jeggings and Tights are totally unsuited to Indian weather-put them away till you’re fine.
If possible, sleep without a panty so that your parts stay aerated and you avoid infection.
Douching your vagina is not a good idea. Let your natural defense mechanism take over.
Eating yoghurt and pro-biotics colonises your bowel with friendly bacteria which migrate to the skin and vagina and protect you from future infection.
Use a mild soap or a special pH controlled perineal wash for your privates-that keeps the natural resistance mechanisms going.
Using condoms protects against infections –so insist on it.
Some panty liners contain chemicals that may causes irritation and allergies-avoid these.
Sterilise your panties by soaking them in half a bucket of water into which a cap full of dettol or similar antiseptic solution is added, for a couple of hours. Wash thoroughly with detergent before use. You need to do this only once, not daily.
During your periods, change sanitary pads every few hours and wash atleast thrice a day. The glue from some makes of pads and panty liners doesn’t wash off. It traps germs and re infects you. Change the make or keep a separate set to use only during your periods[with a pad]
Above all, your vaginal discharge may just be the symptom of something more serious-see your doctor and get things cleared.
Asking your partner to go for a check and maybe adopt some of the measures mentioned above-might help both of you.
Severe Infections may need long term oral treatment -follow your doc’s advice and try not to give up half way.
Let there be White no more!

The Lowly Gynaecologist

2010-10-06T03:16:00.000-07:00

“ A Physician works at cerebral level, a Surgeon at spinal level and a Gynaecologist at Lumbrical level”

This was the sneering statement made by a Physician while we were in training.
For the non medical people, it implies that a Physician [post graduate in internal medicine] uses his brain, a surgeon his inherent skill, while a gynaecologist merely uses her hands without thinking or talent- the Lumbricals being muscles in the hand.
This patronising attitude towards us gynaecologists continues through our working lives.

With the Nobel prize for medicine being awarded this year to Professor Robert Edwards, the originator of the test tube baby and the first gynaecologist to win the award, all of us gynaecologists feel vindicated. It was balm on our bruised egos.
Thinking back, Gynaecologists have given several firsts to the world of medicine-

Professor Ian Donald, first thought of holding an ultrasound probe over the adbdomen of a pregnant woman and got images of the baby, thus starting the whole new field of sonography-which is indispensable in diagnosis in almost every branch of medicine and even used in therapy.

Professor Kurt Semm also a gynaecologist, removed an appendix laparoscopically and then started doing hysterectomies setting the trend for endoscopic surgery. The surgeons followed with Laparoscopic cholecystectomies etc.

Prof. Camran Nezhat again a gynaecologist first used an endovision camera and monitor to do laparoscopic surgery while looking at a screen and not peeping through the telescope with one eye shut. Today extensive cancer surgeries are possible because of this one small step /giant leap.

Then there was the test tube baby- Louise Brown the brain child of Sir Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe. Gynaecologists all over the world adopted their methods successfully –leading to a whole new field of assisted reproduction. With this came advances in culture media, incubators, operative microscopes, sterile environments and led to development of stem cell research, tissue preservation and even cloning.

Prof Charles Koh, started doing endoscopic tuboplasty [for repair of the fallopian tubes] and opened up the field endoscopic microsurgery –useful even to cardio-vascular surgeons.

Besides these landmark developments by Gynaecologists, I feel a 'Doctor for Ladies' is different from other consultants in many ways-She has to be both Physician to treat various diseases in pregnancy, taking into account the effects on the mother and the baby; and Surgeon to operate on various pathologies of women. Besides gynaecologists need to have a fair knowledge of endocrinology, oncology and breast diseases. Plus she has to know about and use psychotherapy and also step in to sort out the social problems of her patients. Women she has delivered look to her for baby care tips and a basic knowledge of paediatrics is also in her domain. She also has to educate- girls starting puberty, women getting married, or trying to have a baby, sort out physical marital problems and help women age in comfort.

Gynaecologists are often primary care physicians for pregnant women and for those who are too embarrassed to see a male family doctor for an ailment of a personal nature.

To all derisive statements made towards us by doctors of other specialities, I would like to say we are not only your equal, we are first among equals.

Congratulations to Sir Robert Edwards for getting the highest honour for his work. Sir, you do us all proud.

Treatment by halves

2010-08-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

" Sonny, send your worst cases to your enemy"-An old Gynaecology Professor to his assistant.

At the Wadia Maternity and Gynaecological Hospital in Mumbai that is exactly what we get. Women who have undergone multiple surgeries that have failed, multiple cycles for infertility treatment and have exhausted their resources but not hope, have lost a number of babies and are taking that one final chance, mothers carrying babies with severe growth restriction or anomalies where the gynaecologist doesn't want to break the bad news, ART practitioners who want their patients to undergo laparoscopy cheaply and save money for IVF and so on.
I speak from hind sight and a review of cases that I have managed and here are some of my observations-
ART practitioners, seem to jump too soon into IUI and then IVF cycles and further ICSI if all fails.
Several patients have a simple problem like lack of knowledge of fertile period, insufficient frequency of coitus, use of lubricants or douches, washing off the ejaculate, pain during intercourse from infection or inadequate relaxation and just advising couples on these basic techniques works for them.

The cervical factor is another neglected area. Most IVF clinics do a transvaginal scan and a simple per speculum or per vaginal check is skipped. Cervical erosions, ulcers, small polyps chronic cervicitis contributing to her infertility are missed. The first time the cervix is looked at is during an IUI by which time its too late to treat and the doctor proceeds with the procedure-which is likely to fail if the infection has tracked into the uterus or results in an abortion should a pregnancy occur. A simple procedure like a cryo or thermo cauterisation cure the erosion and several patients conceive spontaneously after.

Sometimes the cervical canal is tortuous or stenosed or there are large cysts [Nabothian]-obstructing passage of sperms and causing infertility. A generous dilatation, rupturing the cysts, removing the polyps and lysing the adhesions cures the infertility or makes the IUI or Embryo transfer much smoother and bloodless and hence more likely to be successful.

Uterine polyps are treated by most gynaecologists by simply pulling it or curetting it out-increasing chances of recurrence. If done at hysteroscopy taking care to cut the base, the polyp is unlikely to recurr and the patient has better chances of pregnancy -spontaneously or assisted.

Fibroids not only distend the uterine cavity, make the endometrium inflamed and hostile to implantation, they may mechanically obstruct passage of sperm if they are close to the cervix or the fallopian tubes. They also make an IUI / ET a bit more difficult. With modern laparoscopic techniques, it is possible to have few or no adhesions after myomectomy and often patients conceive after the myomectomy.

Poly cystic ovaries or indeed any ovarian cyst needs to be diagnosed and ovarian drilling removes large unruptured follicles that mechanically obstruct newer ones, changes the hormonal environment, and these patients come back pregnant much to their surprise. If they are on treatment, ovarian drilling makes them sensitive to drugs like clomiphene to which they were hitherto resistant, reduces their requirement of gonadotropins and chances of Ovarian Hyperstimulation. However one needs to do just 4-5 punctures, with a minimum current for just a few seconds and copiously irrigate the ovary to avoid thermal damage to other eggs.

Endometriotic cysts are often punctured and left to nature by gynos not sufficiently confident of endoscopy-removing the cyst wall is essential to prevent recurrence of these cysts.

Tiny patches of endometriosis are also left untouched-these release several factors that inhibit ovulation, alter tubal and uterine peristalsis and interfere with conception. Removal of all endometriosis, makes a patient better responsive to ovulation induction and increases her chances of pregnancy.

If there is a problem in sperm count or motility, the male partner is sent to an andrologist who may rule out hernias, hydrocoeles, varicocoeles and undescended testes but rarely bothers to do his sugars, thyroid function tests and take a history of exposure to high temperature or stress, do a semen culture and treat the infection. An exhorbitant nutritional supplement is prescribed that most men stop after a month because of the cost. It is so easy and cost effective to test and take a history to get at the real problem before jumping to do an IUI where the few poorly motile sperms will also be lost and then to ICSI. The chances of successful ART are also increased by taking care of these other common problems.

Finally, many women have multiple cervical dilatations for various procedures and often have an incompetent os on top of a multiple gestation. Good idea to look out for this prior to infertility treatment and continue to look for it from 3 months onwards with a sonography[ most sonologists never comment on the cervix] and take a stitch if required, preventing a precious pregnancy aborting.

Male gynaecologists avoid proper exam of the patients breasts which is left to nurses. they often miss galactorrhoea and though the prolactin levels are normal, correction of the galactorrhoea does often restore normal cycles and fertility.

Thyroid disorders are missed if the tests are not done at a good laboratory-so looking for signs of thyroid disturbance and sending these patients blood to a good [although expensive] lab may be worth it.

So lets 'Look at the patient not just the disease'. Lets not be in a hurry to start an ART cycle. Lets take care of everything we possibly can-this would help our infertile patients get pregnant at minimum cost and carry their babies to term which is the final aim of both the patient and the doctor.

The new age in women's surgery

2010-01-02T06:39:00.000-08:00

When my mother needed a hysterectomy 25 years ago, she had her abdomen cut, her uterus removed and things stitched back.

My aunt got her uterus removed vaginally.

Both went through pain, prolonged recovery periods, bed rest, put on weight due to bed rest, had to stay home from work and were miserable.

A revolution in surgery started with a German gynaecologist Kurt Semm who did a hysterectomy using a telescope, thin instruments put in through fine metal tubes and coagulating protein in tissues using electrical energy and even stitching up through those tubes.

Endoscopy was adopted by all surgeons-general surgeons now remove appendices and gall bladders laparoscopically, gynaecologists remove uterii, fibroids, ovarian tumors and even repair hernias [prolapsed uterii] and orthopaedic surgeons to repair joints and even neurosurgeons are reaching remote areas of the brain endoscopically.

When my son needed a major joint surgery, all he needed were 3 puncture wounds round his shoulder, was home in one day and doing everything himself in two days.

This is the new magical world of endoscopy. We look into the patient's abdomen with a telescope-the image magnified several times and coagulate and cut tissues precisely using excellent instruments and electrical power or ultrasound waves. The tissue to be removed is cut with a rotating blade and removed in strips through a small puncture wound. Essential suturing is done. The cavity is washed with saline and every fine bleeding point is taken care of.

The patient recovery is amazing. She sits up and drinks on the same day and goes home the next.

A week later, her sutures are removed and the scars are invisible in a few months.

Like any surgery, these operations have their complications but in experienced hands with good instruments, the complications are negligible.

At my hospital, where two patients who underwent the same surgery but one with a cut on her abdomen and the other laparoscopically, were lying side by side and comparing notes.

The Laparoscopic one went home in a day and the one who had open surgery started crying and quarreling with the doctors for not doing a laparoscopic surgery on her. Yes. There is such a degree of difference in the two routes.

However, lack of good training, poor instruments, lack of experience and hurry and greed on part of doctors are giving this surgery a bad name.

Further, senior renowned doctors are not familiar with these techniques and in an attempt to keep their patients, malign laparoscopy.

No matter, this is the future and it is here to stay.

I wish my mother had had a laparoscopy and not suffered any pain, or been invalid.

I'm glad we now live in the age where no pain or disfigurement needs to be suffered even for a supramajor cancer surgery.

In future, with robots endoscopy will become even more accepted and done remotely.-Yes a surgeon in Bangalore will soon be able to operate on a patient in Bhatinda.

Driving in Bombay

2009-08-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

India has the highest number of road accidents in the world-13 an hour. And the figure is only going to go up.

A motorist in Bombay truly suffers- from traffic jams, naka bandis, dug up roads, construction of flyovers or monorail, pot-holed roads, flooded roads,lack of parking places, towing away of your car, obstruction by tourist buses, BEST buses, taxis, rickshaws, hand carts, bullock carts, dogs, cows, garbage bins, garbage trucks, jaywalkers and even policemen who stand in the middle of the road or stop a passing truck.

Our pavements are either dug up or have debris lying on them for months, hutments, toilets for the hutment dwellers, STD booths, milk booths, Jhunka-bhakar stalls which sell everything but, extensions of shops or hotels, fencing off for growing plants, hawkers, cows, Municipal contractor's offices, police chowkies, dust bins, cars parked, basket makers, ganapati pandals, temples, offices of political parties and many more obstructions to their real use which is for pedestrians to walk on.

The people of Bombay are forced to walk on the causeway exposing them to accidents by vehicles.

If rickshaws are not allowed on main roads, how come hand carts and bullock carts are allowed completely blocking the flow of traffic? Is this a village?Isn't there a law against it? If so, why is it not being enforced? Rickshaw drivers and two wheelers have the worst manners and will go at snail pace in the fast lanes, cut lanes, stop in the middle of the road, disrespect signals, overtake from the left and generally make life hell for motorists

Taxis park any and everywhere, not at designated parking areas. even double park. thereby completely blocking roads.

The police carry out naka bandis without a thought for the huge snarls they might cause-not taking into account dug up roads, nor making an effort to allow smooth movement of traffic.

It is an open secret that politicians make huge amounts of money from any construction. Hence before an election, all major roads undergo some work leading to an impossible traffic situation-this could easily be done in a phased manner helping smooth flow of traffic.

Can't the BEST narrower buses that don't occupy half the road? and get rid of some that run empty? Further the BEST drivers are the worst road-hogs, cutting lanes, never stopping close to a pavement but right in the middle of the road, pushing other cars out-severe penalties should be laid on them and they should be taught some etiquette. garbage trucks are even worse-and dangerous too as is evident from the number of deaths caused by them.

Our pavements need to be freed of all the encroachments if people are to get some place to walk on. so that cars get some place to drive on. so that there is less road rage. and fewer accidents.

Corruption in Bombay schools

2009-07-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

Even before a baby is born, parents to be in Bombay start keenly observing young kids around and talk to parents about schools with a view to get their child into the best nursery and then school!

Sadly land is such a problem in the island city that real estate prices alone would deter one from starting a new school.

We are left with no option but to go for the existing 'convent schools'-since these have the best reputations, Private schools are vey few -some Arya vidya mandirs and some trust run schools like Jamnabai n if you're lucky, Ambani.

No convent school even looks at a non catholic without a hefty donation. the 'interview ' for admission is a sham.

60 or more kids are packed into each class.

The teachers are usually substandard and total blackmailers who expect parents to make charts for them, give them fancy gifts on their birthdays and teacher's day and even cook for the teacher's picnic.

Those kids whose mums are always seen hovering round the teachers and giving them gifts-of clothes, food, medical advice or tuition students, get the best grades and the best roles in plays with the prizes.

Then there are various 'fund raising drives'-forced ads in the magazine, banners, participating in fun-fairs, buying tickets for concerts-[which are sponsored by a parent], collecting money in times of calamities. Kids are told to get a certain amount and if it falls short, the poor kid's life is made miserable.

The schools usually have extensive grounds which are rented out for marriages-thus giving the school a healthy income and making the kids sit through lessons with the rata tat of stages being erected and no place to play in.

The weaker students cant even expect to pass unless they take tuitions from the class teacher. she often uses her good offices to help the child in other subjects as well.

The teachers often belong to one community and kids known to them naturally get preferential treatment.

There is no curb on the methods adopted by the teachers to discipline the kids-taunt them, insult them, tear their books, throw the books in the dust bin, write 'remarks' in their calendars for flimsy reasons, and even use bad language or beat the child.

the new 'play way' of learning means no one can check how much the teacher has managed to teach and what the child really knows.

Even a place for lunch is sold to kids as a card-shouldn't all kids be provided with a place to sit and eat their lunch?

The school bus is another torchure- over packed, with older kids bullying and abusing the younger ones, a stupid conductor who threatens and actually beats up kids at will.

God forbid-if one dares complain about all this, your child's school years will be ruined.

I know that atleast part of all this money collected was used by the priest to build a house for himself in his hometown.

Where does all the rest of the money go?

After twelve years of this substandard education, your little one is expected to compete with kids from far superior private schools with a central or icse board that is far more advanced.

Can't the government help education trusts to set up good private schools so that we have some option and are released from this stranglehold of 'convent' schools?

My kid changed over from one such convent to a private school. I was lucky. I feel for the kids and their parents who don't have the option.

I was from a convent school too. But we had wonderful teachers and hardly any demands were made of our parents. All this avarice seems recent.

Alternatively can't some checks be introduced to make sure convent schools function optimally -like the Cathedral and John Connon school.

Statehood for Bombay

2009-07-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

With a population of 13 million and growing, Bombay has more people staying in it than some countries-e.g.Israel, Bhutan, Luxembourg, Singapore.

It certainly has more people than several states of India-Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, Goa, Sikkim, Delhi.

It is the most populous city in the country- 2 million more than Delhi, twice the population of Bangalore and Kolkatta and thrice the population of Chennai.

It is the commercial capital of the country and pays 40% of the nations income tax.

Yet its infrastructure is sadly lacking

60% of Bombay is filled with slums.

An outdated drainage system and uncontrolled building has resulted in deluges after heavy rain, year after year.

A government of ministers none of whom are from the city, are only interested in making money out of it and lining their own pockets or passing on a bit to their constituencies.

The Municipal corporation of Bombay has no teeth. Various organisations like MHADA, MSRDC, MSEB,etc have been floated with the express purpose of looting Mumbai's wealth and ruining her once pristine roads.-Why don't these corporations work for and out of some village in Maharashtra-connecting villages and towns. Why not leave the city roads and housing to Bombayites?

Even our excellent Bombay University has to be subservient in medical education to the Maharashtra University of health sciences which runs out of a single small structure in Nasik and pushes kids from the rest of Maharashtra to Mumbai while our kids have to go to some mohfussil town for education.

The common entrance exam to medical and engineering colleges is also designed by crooked politicians so Bombay kids with affording parents don't get into Bombay colleges and are forced to enter private colleges run by the creepy gandhi topiwallahs to line their khadi pockets.

When only 60% on the populace is Marathi speaking why force it on all and have even government orders in high-faluting incomprehensible Marathi.

Why not shift the capital of Maharashtra to the Peshwa capital of Pune?

Even our ssce board exam is so substandard- to suit rural Maharashtra. A Bombay board would have a better standard in keeping with an urban populace.

And who gave the right to politicians elected for just five years to change the historic 500 year old name of this city from Bombay to Mumbai?

Let the Chagan Bhujbals, Sharad Pawars and Ranes rule over Baramati, Konkan or wherever and leave Bombay to be run by Bombayites.

Its high time this neglected city is transformed into its true glorious self.

And now its on the terrorist net with delhi politicians least concerned about it.

Its each one for himself so awake ye citizens of Bombay and fight for your right-as Tilak said,-Swarajya ha maaza janma siddha hakk aahe ani to me milawnarach.

Maternity hospitals of Mumbai

2009-06-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

Mumbai has a multitude of nursing homes. And several five star hospitals. And several government run hospitals. These are not at all appropriate in today's age and time.

If a middle class woman wants to have a baby, she can hardly afford Breach candy, Leelavati, Jaslok, Bombay hospital, Hiranandani, Wockhardt unless she can shell out Rs.40,000 or more for a normal delivery with a private room and an experienced gynaecologist. and these may be too far from her residence. If she needs a caesarean then it may go to Rs.75,000 to a lakh and a half-which is the main deterrent. She can hardly expect to be comfortable and rested if she shares a room with one to three other women in these hospitals if she needs or wants a hospital delivery but can't afford a single room.

Nor can she go to a municipal hospital or semi aided hospital for worries about overcrowding and infection.

So, she settles for a nursing home.-a mom and pop kind of place. where it may take up precious time if she needs a caesarean, blood, neonatologist, physician, surgeon or intensive care.

similar is the case for all middle class people even if they have insurance, but can't afford hospitals and have to settle for nursing homes.

Doctors too find this 'nursing home' set up restrictive. they cannot treat all the cases they may be qualified for and may not get an attachment to a large hospital due to lack of the right connections. it is also outright dangerous in some instances.

So what is the solution? simple. 'Cluster development'. instead of four nursing homes and path labs and bloods banks in four streets, have them in one place. with quarters for nurses, resident doctors, anaesthetists etc., an intensive care unit, a blood bank-the works. this is the logic behind co-operative farming.

The government should also step in and help such hospitals to develop-allotting land and giving permission for water, electricity etc. this will greatly benefit ordinary people and doctors. and solve a major problem we face in Mumbai today. This is how medicine is practised all over the world. Doctors are attached to hospitals-one in every locality.

Even small towns in India have large hospitals because real estate is affordable. not so in Mumbai. Hence Mumbai lags behind.

Everyone talks of rural health forgetting that we need an urban health policy that helps the middle class.

people are talking of 'fortune at the bottom of the pyramid'. This is a huge market waiting to be tapped in Mumbai.-a reasonably priced, multispeciality hospital in your locality with the best doctors of the area. And above all they should not neglect expectant mothers just because it is considered a risky business or not very lucrative like most of the newer hospitals in Mumbai.