GUWAHATI: Assam continues to do poorly nationally despite a little improvement in its Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR).
The state has recorded 195 fatalities per lakh live births, which is an improvement from the prior figure of 215 during the period of 2016 to 2018, according to the most recent "Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality" for the years 2018 to 2020 published by the Registrar General of India (RGI) on Tuesday.
At 19 per lakh live births, Kerala has the lowest MMR. The special bulletin indicates that the average MMR for the country decreased from 113 in 2016–18 to 97 in 2018–20.
Teenage marriage and nutritional inadequacies continue to be concerning but are preventable, according to Nilmadhab Das, director of health services in Assam, who told the media that among the many causes leading to the high MMR. "One of the main causes of MMR is early marriage, which results in early pregnancies. Additionally, a lot of anaemic women get pregnant early, which puts the birth at risk."
In Assam, the percentage of women getting married before the legal minimum age is 32%, but according to the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) published earlier this year, 25% of women between the ages of 18 and 29 marry before they are legally allowed to. Eight Indian states, including Assam and Tripura, have an anaemia prevalence of 60% or higher among women.
The northeastern states, including Assam, fell below the national average of 86% despite efforts to reduce maternal mortality through institutional delivery, which refers to childbirth in a medical facility. According to the survey, 84% of births in Assam took place in medical facilities, compared to approximately 100% of births in Puducherry, Goa, Kerala, Lakshadweep, and Tamil Nadu.
Regardless of the length or location of the pregnancy, the World Health Organization defines maternal death as "the death of a woman while 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."
Posted by Mandaviya in a tweet, "Maternal Mortality Ratio significantly decreased from 130 per lakh live births in 2014–16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018–2020. MMR has significantly decreased as a result of the numerous healthcare steps taken by PM Narendra Modi Ji's administration to provide high-quality maternal and reproductive care."
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