Explained — Maternal mortality ratio in the states

News:According to the data by Sample Registration System on Maternal Mortality in India,maternal mortality ratio(MMR) has declined from 130 during 2014-2016 to 122 during 2015-17.

Facts:

Key takeaways from the data:

  • The data has revealed that 68% of deaths due to maternal mortality were among women in the age group of 20-29.
  • Assam recorded the highest MMR with 229 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births but there was an improvement from the 2014-16 MMR of 237.
  • Kerala has the lowest MMR at 42.It is followed by Maharashtra ,Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Telangana.

Additional information:

About Maternal Mortality:

  • Maternal mortality 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.
  • The WHO says the MMR has dropped by 38% worldwide between 2000 and 2017.However,an estimated 810 women died every day in 2017 from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
  • The MMR in low income countries in 2017 is 462 per 100,000 live births versus 11 per 100,000 live births in high income countries.
  • The factors that prevent women from receiving or seeking care during pregnancy and childbirth are (a)poverty (b)distance to facilities (c)lack of information (d)inadequate and poor quality services and (e)cultural beliefs and practices.
  • According to the United Nations(UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),the global target is to bring down the MMR to fewer than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.