On his first day as the US President, Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders, many of which were highly anticipated, some dreaded, but almost all of them with far reaching repercussions across the world. Perhaps the foremost among those immediately affected happen to be expecting Indian couples on H1B visas.
As per one of the almost 80 executive orders signed by Trump, February 20 is the deadline for termination of birthright citizenship; thereby making the expecting Indian couples make a beeline for C-sections ahead of the deadline.
Reportedly, the maternity clinics, gynaecologists have been flooded with calls from a significant number of Indian couples whose due date hovers around or is slightly after the 20th of February. Indians are notoriously famous for resorting to extreme and desperate measures to have a green card, a permanent residence or birthright citizenship in several developed countries, especially the US. The latest development has sparked fresh concerns about many couples neglecting the health of the baby and the mother to circumvent the system.
What also adds to the rush of couples swarming the maternity clinics is that in many cases Indians also bet their citizenship on their children born in the US. After the US-born child turns 21, these American-Indians are their parents' ticket for US residency.
Lately, birthright citizenship had become the more popular and favoured method among young Indian couples to have permanent residency in the country. The backlog of green cards is, reportedly, century long and takes decades before approvals. Thereby making Indians head for preterm births and trying all they can for their children to be eligible for birthright citizenship.
Social media is replete with harrowed details of those who put all their stakes and money on moving to the US in the hope of having a child in the US. Echoing the sentiments and concerns of many, a user Vasindhara Sirnate opines, "I know people in my country can be bat**** crazy but this is next level craziness and stupidity. A green card is not worth the risk to your child. Please act like a reasonable person."
The risks of preterm births
Medically defined as birth before 37 weeks of gestation, preterm births are known to cause several health complications. According to the World Health Organization, preterm birth complications are lifelong and the leading cause of death among children under the age of 5. The ones who survive face lifelong health consequences with an increased likelihood for disability and developmental delays.
The statistics by WHO is equally distressing. One out of every 10 babies born is preterm and every 40 seconds, one of those born preterm, dies. However, the great lengths to which Indians have gone to nurse their foreign dreams is not just folklore but a phenomenon that has lasted generations and even been captured in art and cinema. From illegal border crossings to perilous travels to undocumented migration have all been resorted to and not just on odd days. Amidst, all of this, how likely are they to ignore preterm health risks can only be guessed.
