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Apollo Hospitals Group will spend Rs 100 crore over the next 12 months in expanding its chain of birth centres, branded Cradle.
holistic maternal care Having branched off as a segment in healthcare, hospitals offering holistic maternal care are coming up fairly quickly in the country.
A newly opened unit of Apollo Hospitals Group brand Cradle in Chennai is one such modern delivery centre where a soon-to-be mother will have more than just clinical attention.
The 30,000 sq. ft. facility in South Chennai is the fourth Cradle unit, including the two in Bangalore and one in Gurgaon.
The facility, with 35 in-patient beds, has been built at investment of over Rs 20 crore.
The brand will set up at least seven more birthing centres in the next one year, says Neeraj Garg, Chief Executive Officer, Cradle.
Though an urban concept, this is not necessarily a metropolitan thing, says Garg.
“When we launched this brand, we identified 35 cities in the country that can have more than one Cradle facility.”
Garg is confident that the concept will catch on. Though clinical per se, the facilities of Cradle appear like a hotel – the lobby and the rooms offer a personal touch.
features Delivery rooms will stream music at the time of birth if she wants it, and the patient can watch TV, read newspapers and have Wi-Fi connectivity, apart from taking yoga classes and diet regimes.
“The idea was to provide an experience more celebratory in nature. Pregnancy should not be treated as an illness.”
At an average price of Rs 75,000 for delivery, an expecting woman can also get consultancy and post-delivery services at a higher cost.
With two-thirds of its customers covered with insurance policies, the package costs are significantly reduced, says Garg.
An emerging trend Recently, the Bangalore-based Motherhood chain expanded into Chennai with 25,000-sq. ft, five-floor facility four months ago.
It has three operational delivery centres in the country and will double that number in four months.
Chief Executive Officer Chandil Kumar says “boutique” birthing centres as a trend is being fuelled by higher disposable incomes, rising number of nuclear families, and the disposition to stop with one child or two.
bharani.v@thehindu.co.in
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