K'taka reports highest number of maternal deaths in South India

Karnataka continues to report the highest number of deaths of expectant mothers in South India, though it boasts of achieving the millenium development goals for Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR).

While Kerala reports 61 maternal deaths per lakh, in Karnataka it is as high as 133. When it comes to IMR, the State reports the second highest number of infant deaths among Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Attribute this to the lack of human resource in rural areas and minimal awareness about the need for institutional delivery, opine experts. According to officials from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the highest number of cases are reported from districts in North Karnataka such as Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Koppal and Raichur.

Doctors blame anaemia and late referrals. Speaking to Deccan Herald, Dr Malini K V, member, Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India said that late referrals, mostly due to the lack of awareness, lead to most of the complications and death. “Even as there are a lot of government schemes that attract women towards an institutional delivery, not all women come early. Some of them take medications in their hometown and come to hospitals only in the last moment,” she said.

The government has been providing iron and folic acid supplementation to girls. However, anaemia continues to be the leading cause of death in pregnant women. “Just a week ago, we came across a patient with Haemoglobin (Hb) as low as 5 g while the ideal is 12 g,” Dr Malini said. Besides, she said it is essential for pregnant women to get their Hemoglobin levels checked at least four times in the nine months. “Pregnancy induced hypertension and gestational diabetes are also seen often and can only be addressed through regular follow-ups that most women do not come for,” she said.

Infant mortality

Similar is the case with IMR. Karnataka reports 31 deaths for every 1,000 live births as against 12 deaths in Kerala. The Health department officials also note that 72 per cent of the infants that die are less than a month old and two thirds of this number die within a week of birth.

A senior City based pediatrician said even as there are several measures that the department has in place under the National Health Mission, shortage of manpower has crippled the system. “The government might be motivating women to go for institutional deliveries. But there are not enough beds and professionals in the existing institutes,” said the specialist.

Besides this, availability of blood is a challenge in North Karnataka and this amounts to a good number of deaths, experts say. “Karnataka was in the seventh position when it came to breast feeding. Now, we are not even among the top ten,” the pediatrician said.
Top officials from the department of health are keen on putting an action plan in place to address the issue. In a recent meeting, it was decided upon to address it in a phased manner. Filling the vacancies for ANMs, identifying cases of high risk pregnancies and keeping 108 ambulance drivers aware of such cases to ensure immediate help are among the measures that are being planned.


Death in numbers

State    Maternal Mortality    Infant Mortality
    (Per one lakh)    (Per 1,000)
Karnataka    133    31
Kerala    61    12
Tamil Nadu    79    21
Andhra Pradesh    92    41