New Delhi: Maternal Mortality Ratio has declined from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20, according to a special bulletin released by the office of the Registrar General of India. According to the data, Assam has the highest Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 195 while Kerala has the lowest of 19 per lakh live births. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya attributed the improvement in the country’s MMR to the Narendra Modi government’s various healthcare initiatives.
Maternal mortality in a region is a measure of the reproductive health of women in the area. Many women of reproductive age die due to complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth or abortion, the Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India 2018-20 said.
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The present bulletin provides the level of maternal mortality for the period 2018-2020.
According to World Health Organization,
Maternal death is 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.
In a tweet, Mr. Mandaviya said,
Significant decline in the Maternal Mortality Ratio from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-2020. The various healthcare initiatives of PM Narendra Modi Ji’s government to ensure quality maternal and reproductive care have helped tremendously in bringing down MMR.
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According to the Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India 2018-20, Assam, which has the highest MMR, is followed by Madhya Pradesh with MMR of 173 per lakh live births and Uttar Pradesh 167. Kerala, which has the lowest MMR, is followed by Maharashtra 33 and Telangana 43, the data revealed.
One of the key indicators of maternal mortality is the Maternal Mortality Ratio which is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 1,00,000 live births during the same period. The target 3.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations aims at reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 1,00,000 live births.
The Office of the Registrar General of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, apart from conducting the Population Census and monitoring the implementation of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act in the country, has been giving estimates on fertility and mortality using the Sample Registration System.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
