Background: There is constant need to improve and strengthen the services needed to decrease maternal mortality¹. One strategy for reducing maternal mortality and morbidity is ensuring that every baby is delivered in an institution².  Institutional deliveries with skilled birth attendants has

shown to have better health outcome and survival of mothers and neonates. It also provides easy access to skilled assistance, drugs, equipments and referral transport. In order to encourage institutional deliveries, the Government of Telengana has introduced a cash incentive to the patients who are below the poverty line to deliver in the government hospitals.

Methods:A rural medical college hospital setting was selected in the newly formed state of Telengana. The number of deliveries before and after giving cash incentives to the mother and a kit to the theneonate  was studied.

Results:There was an absolute increase in the number of hospital deliveries, although this was not statistically significant.

Conclusion:Giving incentives to obstetric patients increases the number of hospital deliveries.