A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take. And maternal mortality is a great threat to her existence. It is a factor that grades a country on the basis of its social, medical and technological grounds in comparison to other countries in the world.
According to World Health Organization, “Maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. To facilitate the identification of maternal deaths in circumstances in which cause of death attribution is inadequate, a new category has been introduced: Pregnancy-related death is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the cause of death.”
What Is The Status Of Maternal Mortality Rate Among Women In India?
50-98% of maternal deaths are caused by direct obstetric causes like anaemia, ruptured uterus, hepatitis, infection and most important reason is haemorrhage. In India, Maternal Mortality Rate is actually decreasing. According to the data of Niti Aayog, in 2004-06 MMR in India was 254 per 100000 live births whereas in 2014-16 it changed to 130 per 1 lakh live births.
Also, depression is one of the major reason for mother’ death during pregnancy period and the reason behind this depression can be no support from family, family pressure, physical, sexual or emotional abuse and overthinking. After looking deep into the data of 2014-16 Assam is at the top in terms of maternal mortality rate after that Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand is at 201 per 100000 live births.
Out of the total population of Assam, 20% are tribal or Adivasis. One of the members of the Central body of All Adivasi Women’s Association of Assam explained the major reason for the highest MMR in Assam. She said, “Major gaps exist in securing ambulances for women during pregnancy. In some cases, the ambulance takes so long to reach a women’s house, that she delivers the baby while she’s waiting.”
Do All Women In India Have Access To Natal Medications And Nutritious Food?
Another reason for the maternal mortality rate is that proper food and nutritious supplements or iron pills are not provided. Sometimes due to lack of knowledge or due to the money crisis. Hospitals charge heavy fees for supplements and even a lot for blood transfusion during pregnancy. Women of Assam work in tea gardens/plantations even during pregnancy for wages and many times it happens that they have to deliver a child without doctors and while delivery they lose their lives due to insufficient medical facilities at that particular place.
Mass awareness is required to wake people sleeping with the unknown fear of this huge scar. As we are developed in various fields, we need this place also to be glorified with the minimal rate of maternal mortality. Measures should be taken with the help of smartest medical powers of the world and it should be eradicated as soon as possible to save the life of Indian mothers.