The Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM), Yugal Kishore Pant has said that reasons for every maternal death should be documented and effective measures should be taken prevent such deaths. He gave this direction while undertaking a meeting of state level Maternal Death surveillance and response committee at health directorate on Saturday. Addressing the meeting, the Mission Director said that the death of pregnant women both before the child birth and after it should be taken very seriously. He said that the problem of maternal deaths can be solved only after knowing the reasons of deaths. Pant claimed that the state government remains committed to provide every type of help in this endeavour. In the meeting he directed the departmental officers, head of departments of medical colleges and chief medical superintendents that regular meetings of the District Level maternal surveillance and response committees should be held and audit of maternal deaths at every level should be done to know the reasons behind these deaths.
In the meeting, the department officials told Pant that audit of maternal deaths is being done only in the government hospitals and no information about maternal deaths in the private hospitals, clinics and homes is obtained. Pant said that 15 percent of total maternal deaths in world occur in India.
He said that in the maternal death surveillance and response system, the number of such deaths, place and reasons are investigated and documented.
The director NHM, Dr Anjali Nautiyal said that Uttarakhand has recorded a significant improvement in the maternal death ratio in recent times. She informed that the maternal death ratio has now come down to 201 per one lakh births from 285 per one lakh births. “ With decrease of 84 points, Uttarakhand has become the first state of the country where maximum improvement in maternal death ratio has occurred. She directed the officials to undertake regular audits of maternal deaths in the private hospitals. Dr Nautiyal said that these hospitals should be bound to give regular information about these deaths so that a work plan to government of India on maternal deaths can be submitted.
Speaking on the occasion, the director Medical health, Dr Amita Upreti said that exact analysis of maternal deaths can be done only when discussion with the family members is done to gather necessary information.