Maternal mortality rate in state 9% less than national avg

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, June 17

Punjab has shown a decline in Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) by 13.47 per cent which is almost 9 per cent lower than the national MMR in 2014-16.

The country’s MMR has declined from 167 in 2011-13 to 130 in 2014-16, which amounts to 22 per cent decline. However, the state’s MMR has reduced from 141 in 2011-13 to 122 in 2014-16 — a reduction of 

19 points.

A decline of 13.47 per cent has come as a shocker as Punjab had earlier witnessed 18 per cent decline. In the block year 2011-2013, the MMR figure got slashed to 141 from 172 in 2007-09.

The state reported 11 maternal deaths in the period 2014-16 as compared to 17 in 2011-13. The ratio of lifetime risk got slashed from 0.3 to 0.2 (lifetime risk is the probability of at least one woman of reproductive age dying during childbirth).

The maternal death is defined as death of a woman while she is pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.

Director, Health and Family Welfare, Jaspal Kaur said, “We must ensure that every woman delivers in safe pair of hands. Even a pregnant woman living in the remotest and the poorest household of Punjab gets timely access to quality care.”

She said, “Over 98 per cent of the deliveries are institutional deliveries in the state. Medical care has increased the number of deliveries in government hospitals.”

Tall claims of Union Health Minister Jai Prakash Nadda to achieve a target of an MMR below 70 by 2030 seem a distant dream.