The Hindu : Kerala News : Maternal mortality rate high

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 24, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Maternal mortality rate high

IRUVANANTHAPURAM: One health indicator that shows Kerala in poor light is that of the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). According to the National Family Health Survey II, though almost 100 per cent deliveries take place in hospitals in Kerala, the Maternal Mortality Rate in the State is 262 for every one lakh live births. In neighbouring Sri Lanka, where institutional deliveries touch 95 per cent, the MMR is just 60.

Health researchers believe that there is a definite connection between the high MMR in the State and the trend of rising Caesarean sections.

"We need to study further whether the high figure of maternal mortality is due to the increasing number of deliveries through C-sections. The proportion of C-section deliveries in the State and deaths due to anaesthesia complications or the surgical procedure need to be studied in depth," says Dr. Thankappan, Professor and Head, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies (AMCHSS).

An elective C-section delivery carries an increased risk of maternal death than a normal delivery.

For example, the risk of maternal mortality for C-sections in the U.S. is 20 per one lakh live births as compared to 2.5 per one lakh for normal deliveries.

About 140 women in the U.S. die every year following C-sections which are not medically indicated.

"We do not have a reliable data on maternal mortality, and the reported MMR and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) are a gross under-estimation. An IMR as low as 10 and an MMR as high as 262 do not correlate," Dr. Thankappan says.

By C.M.

By C.M.

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