According to a special report released by the Registrar General of India, India’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR) has improved from 113 in 2016-2018 to 103 in 2017-2019. The bulletin also specified that seven Indian states including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha and Assam had a very high MMR while three states including Punjab, Uttrakhand and West Bengal had a high rate. States like Haryana and Karnataka ranked low MMR.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines maternal deaths as ‘the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.’
The scale for MMR is as follows:
Very high means 130 or more maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births.
High means there are 100 to 130 maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births.
Low means there are 71-100 maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births.
Compared to the previous report, this one found that Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar had seen a drop in MMR whereas West Bengal, Haryana, Uttrakhand and Chattisgarh had recorded an increase.
Some of the most common causes of maternal deaths in India, according to a report by the UNICEF, are severe bleeding after childbirth, infections, high blood pressure during pregnancy, delivery complications and unsafe abortions.
What can be done to reduce the maternal mortality rate?
1. Prioritise maternal and child health programmes including but not limited to family planning.
2. Provide clean delivery stations closer to home and waiting rooms in hospitals for women who are at a higher risk for complications.
3. Improve the quality of maternal and child care at the rural level.
4. Educate families about post-partum care.
5. Assure every woman that she has the right to a safe pregnancy and motherhood.