Kerala tops in Maternal, Child health

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CategoryHealth

Last Updated13/03/2022

Kerala has again emerged on top in terms of maternal and child health
The State has recorded the lowest Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 30 (per one lakh live births) in the country
This puts Kerala way ahead of the national MMR of 103.

According to the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) special bulletin on maternal mortality in India (2017-19) Kerala’s MMR has dropped by 12 points.
It was brought out by the office of the Registrar General of India.
The last SRS bulletin (2015-17) had put the State’s MMR at 42 (later adjusting it to 43).

Decade long sustained efforts at properly assessing the cause of maternal mortality in the State and taking up targeted initiatives to tackle each of these.
Developing the Quality Standards in Obstetric Care, in partnership with the NICE International and leading specialists in 2012-13.
Focussing on the management of some of the common causes of maternal deaths -postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), sepsis, and amniotic fluid embolism.
Doing Confidential Review of Maternal Deaths by KFOG since 2004-05 which laid the foundation for all maternal health improvement initiatives.
It was strengthened by maternal near-miss audits in all districts to analyse the critical events which resulted in near zero maternal deaths.
Remaining only state to act upon the operational guidelines released by the Union Health Ministry for Maternal Near Miss Review (MNMR) in 2014.

Improvement of the health system’s emergency or rapid response during obstetric emergencies, especially in secondary care hospitals, including provision of emergency transport system, could go a long way in reducing maternal deaths further in Kerala.
Such good practices should be adopted in whole country to reduce overall maternal mortality ratio and achieving commitment to Sustainable Development goal 3 of reducing the maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.