Lok Sabha Question No. 993 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-18
Subject: Reduction in Maternal Mortality Rate
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shobha Karandlaje

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 993

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.09.2020

## REDUCTION IN MATERNAL MORTALITY RATE

## 993.   KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  note  of  reduction  in  Maternal  Mortality  Rate (MMR) in recent years, if so, the details thereof along with the various Government programs/schemes operational to address maternal health;
- (b) the details of States which have shown improvement in reducing maternal deaths in recent years, state-wise;
- (c) whether it is a fact that women's age of marriage was increased from fifteen years to eighteen years in 1978, by amending erstwhile Sharda Act of 1929;
- (d) if  so,  whether  the  Government  has  set  up  a  Task  Force  to  examine  matters pertaining  to  age  of  motherhood,  imperatives  of  lowering  MMR,  improvement  of nutritional levels and related issues if so, the details thereof including the composition and terms of reference; and
- (e) whether  the  Task  Force  has  submitted  its  report  and  if  so,  the  recommendations thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) & (b)  As per the latest report (2016-18) of Sample Registration System (SRS) released by Registrar General of India (RGI), Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India per 100,000 live births has declined to 113 in 2016-18 from 122 in 2015-17 and 130 in 2014-2016. The detailed  comparative  state-wise  MMR  of  the  year  2015-17  and  2016-18  is  placed  at Annexure-I.

Under  the  National  Health  Mission  (NHM),  some  of  the  important  steps  taken  to  reduce maternal deaths in the country are as follows:

- Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), a demand promotion and conditional cash transfer scheme is implemented with the objective of reducing Maternal and Infant Mortality by encouraging institutional deliveries.
- Under  Janani  Shishu  Suraksha  Karyakram  (JSSK),  every  pregnant  woman  is entitled to free delivery, including caesarean section in public health institutions. This also  includes free  transport,  diagnostics,  medicines,  other  consumables, food and blood, if required.
- Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) has been launched to provide fixed-day  assured  comprehensive  and  quality  antenatal  care  universally  to  all pregnant  women  on  the  9 th of  every  month.  While  antenatal  care  is  routinely provided  to  pregnant  women,  special  ANC  services  are  provided  by  OBGY specialists/ Radiologist/ Physicians at government health facilities under PMSMA.
- 'LaQshya - Labor room Quality improvement Initiative' has been launched on 11 th Dec 2017.
- Special provision of birth waiting homes under NHM in tribal areas.
- Maternal  Death  Surveillance  and  Response  (MDSR)  is  implemented  to  take corrective action for averting maternal deaths.
- Funds  are provided for strengthening of 'Delivery Points' for provision of comprehensive  Reproductive,  Maternal,  New  Born  Child  Health  and  Adolescent (RMNCH+A) services. Placing quality emergency obstetric care services at 'Delivery Points' is a priority area.
- Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Wings are established at high caseload facilities.
- Operationalization  of  Comprehensive  Abortion  Care  Services  and  services  for Reproductive Tract Infections and Sexually Transmitted Infections (RTI/STI).
- Mother  and  Child  Tracking  System  (MCTS)  and  Mother  and  Child  Tracking Facilitation  Centre  (MCTFC),  a  name-based  web-enabled  system  to  track  every pregnant women and child.
- Operational  guidelines  for  Universal  screening  of  Gestational  Diabetes  Mellitus, screening  for  hypothyroidism  for  high  risk  group  during  pregnancy,  training  of General  Surgeons  for  performing  Caesarean  Section,  calcium  supplementation  & de-worming  during  pregnancy  and  promotion  of  birth  companion  during  delivery have been disseminated.
- Monthly  Village  Health  and  Nutrition  Days  (VHND)  are  organized  as  an  outreach activity  at  Anganwadi  centres  for  provision  of  maternal  and  child  care  including nutrition.
- Over 10 lakhs Accredited Social Health Activists  (ASHAs) have been engaged to facilitate  access  of  healthcare  services  by  the  community,  particularly  pregnant women.
- Under  the  National  Iron+  Initiative,  iron  and  folic  acid  supplementation  is  given across life stages including pregnant, lactating women and adolescent girls.
- Regular IEC/BCC is conducted.

(c) & (d )  As announced in the Union Budget for the year 2020-21, a Task Force has been constituted  by  the  Government  vide  notification  dated  4 th June,  2020  to  examine  the correlation  of  age  of  marriage  and  motherhood  with  (i)  health,  medical  well-being  and nutritional status of mother and neonate/infant/child, during pregnancy, birth and thereafter, (ii)  key  parameters  like  Infant  Mortality  Rate  (IMR),  Maternal  Mortality  Rate  (MMR),  Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB), Child Sex Ratio (CSR) etc. and (iii) any other relevant points pertaining to health and nutrition in this context.

- (e) The Committee has not submitted its report.

****

## Statement referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Q. No. 993 for answer on 18.09.2020

## Maternal Mortality Ratio: India and State wise (SRS, RGI)

|   S.No. | States                       |   2014-16 |   2015-17 |   2016-18 |
|---------|------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|       1 | India                        |       130 |       122 |       113 |
|       2 | Assam                        |       237 |       229 |       215 |
|       3 | Bihar/Jharkhand              |       165 |       165 |       149 |
|       4 | Madhya Pradesh/ Chhattisgarh |       173 |       188 |       173 |
|       5 | Odisha                       |       180 |       168 |       150 |
|       6 | Rajasthan                    |       199 |       186 |       164 |
|       7 | Uttar Pradesh/ Uttarakhand   |       201 |       216 |       197 |
|       8 | Andhra Pradesh               |        74 |        74 |        65 |
|       9 | Telangana                    |        81 |        76 |        63 |
|      10 | Karnataka                    |       108 |        97 |        92 |
|      11 | Kerala                       |        46 |        42 |        43 |
|      12 | Tamil Nadu                   |        66 |        63 |        60 |
|      13 | Gujarat                      |        91 |        87 |        75 |
|      14 | Haryana                      |       101 |        98 |        91 |
|      15 | Maharashtra                  |        61 |        55 |        46 |
|      16 | Punjab                       |       122 |       122 |       129 |
|      17 | West Bengal                  |       101 |        94 |        98 |
|      18 | Other States                 |        97 |        96 |        85 |