One in five births in Delhi took place at home

According to the report, the NDMC has nearly 100 per cent institutional births, whereas the proportion in case of municipal corporations lies between 70-80 per cent.

One in five births and 1.5 in five deaths took place at home and not in hospitals in the Capital last year, and 15 per cent of all births had no trained medical professional on hand, according to the Delhi Government’s annual report on registration of births and deaths for 2013. The report, released on Friday, puts septicaemia as the number one cause of death on an average among institutional deaths with people also losing their lives to infectious intestinal diseases.

While 15 per cent of all births were registered after the mandatory 21-day period, the registration at birth varied according to the gender, with the girl child more likely to be registered after the male child. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Delhi Cantonment Board were the best at registering births and deaths on time, whereas the South Delhi Municipal Corporation fared the worst.

There were more births in 2013 than in 2012, but fewer deaths and the population of Delhi grew by 2.73 lakh persons. The sex ratio at birth improved in 2013 to 895 females per 1,000 males as compared to 886 the previous year. Yet, it is still lower than it has been in the past, lower than most other States and lower than the all-India average.

As many as 3.70 lakh births were registered in the city in 2013, with 1,014 children being born daily. Interestingly, government hospitals here have handled an average of 545 cases per day of live births as against 284 cases per day by non-government institutions, and 85 per cent of children were born to women in their 20s. While 60 per cent of the births were the first child for a couple, 30 per cent were second children.

According to the report, the NDMC has nearly 100 per cent institutional births, whereas the proportion in case of municipal corporations lies between 70-80 per cent. With 81.75 per cent being institutional births, the report attributes it to “positive impact of different government programmes to encourage institutional delivery for safe maternal and child health.” Yet it acknowledges the need to “take further measures to achieve the milestone of cent per cent institutional delivery”.

In 2013, a total of 97,185 deaths were registered, with 266 deaths occurring daily. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation registered the maximum figure in the number of people who died without any medical attention.

Interestingly, the New Delhi Municipal Council area seems to be “dying out” as it accounts for 11 per cent of all births, but 22 per cent of all deaths.