Punjab’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR) noticed a dip for the second consecutive 12 months, falling from 117 in 2023-24 to 111 in 2024-25, in response to information from the state well being division. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless worse than the nationwide common that stands at 93.
Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless worse than the nationwide common that stands at 93 (HT File)
HT has accessed a duplicate of the information.
In response to the World Well being Group (WHO), MMR, a key well being indicator for moms, refers back to the variety of maternal deaths per 1,00,000 stay births in a given time interval.
Officers attribute the decline to the strengthening of maternal care providers and enhancements of institutional deliveries throughout the state.
A senior well being officer mentioned, “The decline in MMR is a positive sign for the health of mothers. However, it is still above the national average. Several districts have MMR above 150, which is concerning. We are focusing on early detection of high-risk pregnancies and have been regularly holding maternal death reviews to identify lapses.”
In response to the information, Punjab’s MMR was 128 in 2020 -21, which rose to 129 in 2021-22. In 2022-23, the MMR barely decreased to 121.
Even because the state’s MMR improved, well being officers expressed concern over “alarmingly” excessive charges in a number of districts.
In distinction to the state’s enchancment, Ferozepur’s MMR jumped from 238 in 2023-24 to 440 in 2024-25. Equally, Sangrur’s MMR virtually doubled on this time, from 124 in 2023-24 to 238 in 2024-25.
Fatehgarh Sahib, Barnala, Gurdapur, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur confirmed a rise as effectively. As many as 11 out of the 23 districts reported MMR above 100, the information reveals.
Punjab well being officers mentioned almost 44% of the deaths had been attributable to non-obstetric causes, which means any causes of problems or issues throughout being pregnant that aren’t immediately associated to the being pregnant itself or the supply course of.
Round 29% of the deaths occurred owing to obstetric haemorrhage and different obstetric causes. Hypertensive dysfunction led to 13% of maternal deaths in Punjab.
Maternal deaths embody these from causes associated to or aggravated by pregnancies or their administration (excluding unintentional or incidental causes), childbirth and inside 42 days of termination of pregnancies.