India’s declining maternal mortality ratio

• According to the special bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India 2016-18 the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in India has declined to 113 in 2016-18 from 122 in 2015-17 and 130 in 2014-2016.

About:

• It is released by the Office of the Registrar General’s Sample Registration System (SRS).

• One of the key indicators of maternal mortality is the MMR, defined as the number of maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births.

• The target 3.1 of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations aims to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 1,00,000 live births.

• The MMR of various States according to the bulletin includes Assam (215), Bihar (149), Madhya Pradesh (173), Chhattisgarh (159), Odisha (150), Rajasthan (164), Uttar Pradesh (197) and Uttarakhand (99). The southern States registered a lower MMR — Andhra Pradesh (65), Telangana (63), Karnataka (92), Kerala (43) and Tamil Nadu (60).

• Maternal mortality in a region is a measure of reproductive health of women in the area. As per the World Health Organization, maternal death is 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.