Infant Mortality Rate in Madhya Pradesh increases

The Sample Registration System (SRS) 2018 released by the office of Registrar General of India (RGI) shows that the Infant Mortality Rate in Madhya Pradesh has increased.

• The SRS 2018 puts the IMR of Madhya Pradesh at 48 per 1,000 live births, highest in the country and a point higher than the IMR of 2017, which was at 47 per 1,000 live births.
• Assam pulled down the next highest rate of 44 a year before to 41, Odisha by one count to 40 and Kerala by three points to seven, the lowest among the bigger States.
• The country’s average rate has dropped single-point to 32 but the rate climbed to 43 in Uttar Pradesh, making it the second-highest.
• The country’s average stands at 36 deaths for rural and 23 for urban areas.
  

  Infant Mortality Rate	2017	2018
  National average	33	32
  Madhya Pradesh	47	48
  Assam	44	41
  Chhattisgarh	38	41
  Odisha	41	40
  Kerala	10	7

Madhya Pradesh

• In rural Madhya Pradesh, 52 children below one died per 1,000 live births (Infant mortality rate) and 36 in urban areas.
• The IMR for boys in the State stood at 51, while for girls it was 46 in 2018.
• As many as 26 infants of 1,000 live births in Madhya Pradesh died within the first seven days constituting more than half the infant deaths.
• In 2015-2017, Madhya Pradesh registered a Maternal Mortality ratio of 188 per 1 lakh live births, against the country’s average of 122.
• Causes: Increasing premature deliveries, infections, birth asphyxiation, and delay in securing treatment leading to complicated deliveries.
• Concerns:
  • A major concern is birth spacing as in most cases two children were born within one-one and a half years against the advised gap of around three years. This may result in premature deliveries of low birth weight babies.
  • High malnutrition levels in pregnant as well as lactating mothers.
• Measures:
  • Antenatal and postnatal care is important aspects of bringing down infant mortalities.
    • Only 11.4% of mothers received full antenatal care, according to the National Family Health Survey -4 (2015-16).
  • The primary health system needs to be ramped up.
  • To bring down the IMR, more number of pediatric intensive care units should be set up, to take care of the in-born child.
  • Enhancement of manpower.
  • Encouraging community referrals and ensuring timely treatment:
• ASHA worker during referral enters details of patients on online software that can be accessed by the facility. If the patient doesn’t reach there within 24 hours, it is the facility’s responsibility to follow-up.