Kerala’s MMR drops from 61 to 46

National ration is 130, which has shown a significant drop from 167

June 06, 2018 09:04 pm | Updated June 07, 2018 08:38 am IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Photo used for representative purposes only

Photo used for representative purposes only

Kerala has yet again proved that it is on the right track when it comes to maternal and reproductive health by achieving the lowest maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the country from 61 (2011-13) to 46 (2014-16).

The latest Sample Registration System (SRS) special bulletin on maternal mortality in India (2014-16), brought out by the Office of the Registrar General of India, shows Kerala right on top of the list with the MMR (defined as the proportion of maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births) at 46, followed by Maharashtra at 61 and Tamil Nadu in the third place at 66.

The national MMR according to the report is 130, which has also shown a significant drop from 167 in 2011-13.

The MMR estimation under SRS and that of the Health Department has always been at variance with usually a gap of at least 20 or more points. This time, the SRS data seemed to be more realistic, for the Health Department estimates Kerala’s MMR to be 41, senior Health officials said.

The Health Department’s estimation of MMR is by monitoring the actual number of deliveries in the State as well as maternal deaths from its reporting system. However, SRS data is always taken as the official data.

Reducing the number of maternal deaths has always been a priority for the State and it would indeed appear that the innumerable interventions to improve antenatal and delivery care facilities has begun to pay off.

In 2013, the Health Department, in partnership with the NICE International, U.K., and the Kerala Federation of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (KFOG), had developed a 10-point quality standards manual as part of a major initiative to reduce the State’s MMR.

The initiative, which focused on reducing the proportion of maternal deaths due to post-partum haemorrhage, hypertension, amniotic fluid embolism, some of the common causes of maternal deaths in Kerala, had brought about a significant difference in delivery care practices in hospitals where it had been piloted

Reduction of MMR to 30 by 2020 and 20 by 2030 has been set as the State’s target under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

“We are on the right track but last year, we saw a sudden increase in maternal deaths in the State and we lost some 190 mothers to various causes, including haemorrhage and hypertension. We need to tighten the implementation of the quality standards and to better our data collection system so that we do not lose sight of the SDG targets,” V.P. Paily, senior obstetrician and State coordinator of the Confidential Review of Maternal Deaths, told The Hindu .

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