Consistent consolidated efforts of Centre and State Government to improve medical and healthcare facilities for pregnant women in Chhattisgarh have begun to yield significant and promising results, officials informed.
Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India 2014-16 released by Office of Registrar General, India shows that the Maternal Mortality in Chhattisgarh has reduced by 48 points. Maternal Mortality Ratio of Chhattisgarh was 221 in 2011-13, which declined to 173 in 2014-16, they informed.
According to the bulletin, Maternal Mortality Rate of India has decreased from 167 in 2011-13 to 130 in 2014-16. The decline in this duration has been most significant in EAG states and Assam i.e. from 246 to 188. Among the Southern States, the decline has been from 93 to 77 and Other States from 115 to 93.
The State Government has been making consistent efforts through 50,000 Aanganbadis in state to save women from malnutrition, to provide vaccination to pregnant women and to improve their overall health, officials informed.
Chhattisgarh was part of EAG i.e. Empowered Action Group of states, which also included Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh. In order to understand the maternal mortality situation in the country in a better way and to map the changes at regional levels, states of India were categorized into three throups- EAG, Southern states including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu; and Other- the category covering remaining states/UTs.
As mentioned in the bulletin, sample female population of 409030 was taken in Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh.
Number of live births was recorded to be 37106 and number of maternal deaths was recorded to be 64. On the basis of which, MMR of Chhattisgarh has been calculated to be 173 in 2014-16 with lifetime risk on 0.5%.
It is noteworthy that the Office of the Registrar General, India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, apart from conducting Population Census and monitoring the implementation of Registration of Births and Deaths Act in the country, has been giving estimates on fertility and mortality using the Sample Registration System (SRS).
SRS is the largest demographic sample survey in the country that among other indicators provide direct estimates of maternal mortality through a nationally representative sample.
Verbal Autopsy instruments are administered for the deaths reported under the SRS on a regular basis to yield cause-specific mortality profile in the country.
The first report on maternal mortality in India (1997-2003)- Trends, Causes and Risk Factors was released in October, 2006.
The present Bulletin, which provides only the levels of maternal mortality for the period 2014-16, is being brought out as a sequel to the previous Bulletin (2011-13). With this, the maternal mortality data from SRS is available for a period of 20 years.