MATERNAL DEATHS IN INDIA HIGHER THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD
In spite of some of the best medical institutes and practitioners, the rate of death of women during child birth is the highest in India. 1.17 lakh of the global 5.36 lakh women who died during child birth were from India in 2005.
On Dec 03, 2007, Rediff news reported that Paul Hunt, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health said, “Twenty per cent of the world’s maternal deaths occur in India … 100,000 die yearly in India during childbirth or pregnancy, more than in any other country in the world.†He further added, “For a middle-income country of its stature, the rate of maternal deaths in India is shocking.â€
In deed, the state of affairs in child birth is incredibly shocking as more than 300 maternal deaths occur for every 100,000 live births in India which is six times worse than that of the neighboring competitor China. What is worse is the probability that a woman will die from pregnancy related complication is 1 in 70 in India. All these figures beg the question: why is there no concrete effort to reduce maternal mortality in the country? While policies have been framed by the government, they seem to be more like paper tigers, what with the rate of death in child birth still at an unacceptably high level.
India has been warned that at these rates the country will not be able to reach the 2015 maternity targets set up in MDG. The MDG aims to reduce the number of women who die in pregnancy and childbirth by three quarters by 2015. The death of women in child birth is a problem largely overcome in developed countries. But it still persists extensively in the third world countries.
Death of a mother after child birth often means extreme hardship for her children. Recently there was the news of a father giving away his newborn son to an orphanage in Orissa after the mother died due to child birth complications. Many times the newborn kid does not survive due to the lack of nourishment and care. Moreover, other kids may also have to suffer from increased responsibilities, with no mother to take care.
It has been found that the rates of maternal death are high in the economically weaker sections of teh society. Also, if the women are uneducated and uninformed, the chances of death are increased. Having a child should not be a life threatening situation for any women, particularly with all teh advancement that medical science has to offer. However, with poor nutrition and lack of obstetrics care, most poor women continue fighting for their lives with every delivery. In India, women, on an average, tend to get pregnant very early and have little control over their sexual or reproductive health. Low income makes access to better medical facilities difficult and social customs and traditions make post natal care a taboo.
Most women get no care after deliveries and may suffer from infections and severe weakness leading to untimely deaths. Home births are still common in India – accounting for almost 60% of recent births. A large percentage of births do not take place under the supervision of trained mid wives, leading to no respite in case of unexpected complications.
