Maternity and Child Welfare is the branch of medicine that deals with the health and welfare of women going through pregnancy, childbirth, the ante or postpartum phase, as well as the health of children. Women require good accessibility to antenatal care during their pregnancy and specialised care during childbirth. Childbirth also needs assistance from the side of skilled medical professionals, particularly because even today, maternal mortality at birth, as well as infant mortality is still an issue of concern. As a specialisation, Maternity and Child Welfare concentrate on the association between the various socio-economic, biological, nutritional and environmental aspects affecting the health of females in the reproductive age group, as well as children and adolescents. Unlike a lot many other aspects that concern themselves with medicine, the welfare of mothers and their children is of paramount importance in the larger scheme of things, given how it is critical to the health of the future generation and public health as a whole in the years to come. With extensive research underway to mitigate problems such as infant mortality and antenatal and postnatal health of the mothers, professionals in the field of Maternity and Child Welfare are in more demand than ever before.

Diploma in Maternity and Child Welfare, often abbreviated as DMCW, concentrates on helping students better understand methods and principles of epidemiology associated with learning health problems usually linked to women in the reproductive phase of their lives, as well as the children unto their adolescent stages. The course objectives also include enabling students to better assess the health of mothers and children at a community level and diagnosing and management of common health problems faced by mothers and children based on clinical assessment along with targeted, appropriately chosen investigation techniques. DMCW aims to provide hands-on training in reproductive child health, family welfare and adolescent health. The programme also targets the covering of concepts, practices and application for knowledge in the field of and related to maternal and child health care services while also aiming at improving the knowledge and skills of the personnel who work in both the public healthcare delivery system as well as the private sector. Some specific papers that make up the programme’s syllabus include but aren’t limited to preventive maternal and child health, reproductive health, child health, national MCH Policies along with a bunch of corresponding practical courses.

The Diploma in Maternal and Child Welfare programme is a two-year full-time diploma and certification programme that is recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the National Medical Commission. All individuals who have completed their MBBS degree at an institute recognised by the MCI and NMC, and have logged at least one year of continuous rotating internship in any similarly recognised medical college are eligible to apply for admission to the programme. The selection process is usually based on merit, as determined by past academic performance as well as a common entrance test accepted by the institute. Professionals who have taken up and completed the programme may find a wide array of career opportunities in institutions both in the public and private domain that has a maternity and child health department. They also have the options of setting up their open practice, as well as teaching opportunities as lecturers for related MBBS courses.