There's no such thing as free

I'm often asked why low-income women pay to come to LifeSpring, when government hospitals are free. Over and over, the primary reason we hear from our customers is that they want to go somewhere that's higher quality. Of course, "quality" means different things to different people, but low-income or not, we all want the same thing: a good doctor we can trust who answers our questions; a clean and safe environment; and to be treated with dignity and provided with information about our own health.

The second answer we hear most frequently is: "Well, everyone knows that government hospitals aren't free." The first time I heard that, I was shocked to hear of all the bribes that occurred at government hospitals, naive Westerner that I am. While we continuously hear this from our customers, it's a hard thing to talk to outsiders about or present at a conference when asked about the value LifeSpring provides -- primarily because there is little hard data and published evidence to support this, although everyone knows it's going on.

We just got a little help from The Times of India, who last week published two articles around this very topic. As they write in a Nov 9th article entitled "Your baby delivered by staff for a price!" reporting from Hyderabad:

"You can get a glimpse of your baby boy/girl only if you cough up Rs 500/Rs 400 respectively; at some hospitals it costs even more."

There are so many things wrong with that statement, I don't even know where to start! First off, the very idea of charging people with virtually no money to pay sums (around $8-10 USD) to "receive" their baby from the hospital feels so incomprehensible. And then the gender disparity is absolutely heart-breaking.

The article continues: "Humilitated parents have been unwillingly bending to the diktat ("fee") out of fear that the Class IV staff -- who routinely deny them the right to have their babies unless they grease the palms of aayas (housekeepers), operating theater assistants, and sweepers--may harm the baby."

It talks about how the rates at Government Maternity Hospital (in Petlaburj) is Rs 500/Rs 400, but the rates at Gandhi Hospital (which is nearby our hospital and which many of our customers had gone to previously) is anywhere between Rs 100 and Rs 1000.

Says one father: "My wife delivered a baby boy today. The hospital attendants and aaya refused to give me my child unless I paid. They refused Rs 200 that I offered and, in the end, I was forced to shell out Rs. 500".

Bargaining for your baby?!?! If I didn't hear about it nearly every day, I wouldn't believe it either.