INITIATIVES IN INDIA FOR THE REDUCTION OF MATERNAL AND INFANT MORTALITY RATE

BINDHU P.S; Dr. RAJEE REGHUNATH

Volume : VIII, Issue : I, January - 2019

INITIATIVES IN INDIA FOR THE REDUCTION OF MATERNAL AND INFANT MORTALITY RATE

Bindhu P. S, Dr. Rajee Reghunath

Abstract :

Reducing maternal mortality has been a constant struggle globally. Although developed regions have shown a steep decline in maternal deaths, developing world continues to contribute inordinately to the total maternal deaths. The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) ‘five’ focused on reducing maternal mortality and achieving universal access to reproductive health care. In lieu of that, India has made extensive efforts to achieve the same, which are visible through the sharp increase in the rate of institutional births (NFHS 4), but the concurrent high incidences of maternal mortality present a contradictory picture of the nation’s progress in improving maternal health. Despite of the boom in the medical and health sector that India has witnessed in the past decades, progress in reducing maternal mortality at the national level is disappointing. With new Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to reduce maternal mortality ratio to 70 per 100,000 live births by the year 2030, India needs to move beyond the hospital–based approach in addressing the reproductive health issues. The determinants of maternal mortality need to be studied through the lens of social phenomenon to understand its multidimensional nature