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Chapter-1 Preliminary

  1. Short title and commencement: (1) This Act may be cited as the “Right to Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Act, 2075 (2018).”

(2) This Act shall come into force immediately.

  1. Definitions: Unless the subject or the context otherwise requires, in this Act,-

(a)        “Emergency obstetric care” means the service available twenty-four hours to manage any complications in case such complications appear during the condition of pregnancy, child delivery or child birth.

(b)        “Basic emergency obstetric care” means the basic service such as administering antibiotic, magnesium sulfate or oxytocin, taking out entangled placenta and fetus membrane, give birth to infant with the help of vacuum and cleansing uterus in the case of occurrence of miscarriage.

(c)        “Teenager” means a person who is of the age group of over ten years up to nineteen years.

(d)       “Abortion” means the act of fetus coming out or taking it out of the womb or before the fetus remained in the uterus born naturally.

(e)        “Contraception” means the measures to prevent pregnancy by creating obstruction in the common process of ovulation, melting over sperm and ovum or ovum implantation.

(f)        “Contraceptives” means hormone-based or other means to help in the work of contraception.

(g)        “Abortion service” means the abortion service performed in a licensed health institution, by the licensed health worker upon fulfilling the process under this Act.

(h)        “Obstetric care” means the service referred to in Section 5.

(i)         “Pregnancy” means a period from the first day of the last menstruation occurred prior to conception up to remaining of fetus in the womb of a woman.

(j)         “Prescribed” or “as prescribed” means prescribed or as prescribed in the rules framed under this Act.

(k)        “Newborn essential care” means the care including keeping the newborn warm, caring of navel and eyes, breast feeding, administering necessary vaccines.

(l)         “Newborn emergency care” means administering antibiotic, managing including hypothermia for the newborn during the state of infection, and managing the problems relating to respiration of such a new born.

(m)       “Family planning” means the plan to determine number of children or gap between pregnancies upon self interest by using or not using the contraceptives.

(n)        “Reproductive health” means physical, mental and social health condition related to reproductive system, process and function.

(o)        “Right to reproductive health” means the right referred to in Section 3.

(p)        “Morbidity” means the state of adversely affecting reproductive system due to reproduction, pregnancy, abortion, labor and sexual behavior, and this term also includes uterus prolapse, travail cavity, infertility, pelvic caner and similar other state of such types that affects reproductive system.

(q)        “Midwife” means a trained health worker to help in child birth of the pregnant woman.

(r)        “Ministry” means the Ministry of the Government of Nepal looking after the matters relating to health.

(s)        “Comprehensive emergency obstetric care” means blood transmission and surgery service, in addition to basic emergency obstetric care mentioned in clause (b).

(t)        “Safe motherhood” means motherhood service to be provided to women pursuant to this Act during the state of pregnancy, labor and child birth.

(u)        “Health institution” means a hospital, nursing home, medical college or health academy operated in governmental, non-governmental, community or private level, and the term also includes primary health center, health post or health institution operated under any other name.