Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR)

In  News 

• India’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR) has improved to 103 in 2017-19, from 113 in 2016-18 as per a special bulletin released by the Registrar General of India.
  • India is all set to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 70 maternal deaths per lakh live births by 2030

Data of Analysis 

• The country had been witnessing a progressive reduction in the MMR from 130 in 2014-2016, 122 in 2015-17, 113 in 2016-18, and to 103 in 2017-19.
• The number of states which have achieved the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target include: Kerala (30), Maharashtra (38), Telangana (56), Tamil Nadu (58), Andhra Pradesh (58), Jharkhand (61), and Gujarat (70).  
• According to the government, there are five states namely–Uttarakhand (101), West Bengal (109), Punjab (114), Bihar (130), Odisha (136) and Rajasthan (141)] have recorded MMR in between 100-150, while for 4 states namely, Chhattisgarh (160), Madhya Pradesh (163), Uttar Pradesh (167) and Assam (205) have MMR above 150.  

What is Maternal Mortality Ratio ?

• The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period.
•  It depicts the risk of maternal death relative to the number of live births and essentially captures the risk of death in a single pregnancy or a single live birth.
• Method of measurement:
  • The maternal mortality ratio can be calculated by dividing recorded (or estimated) maternal deaths by total recorded (or estimated) live births in the same period and multiplying by 100,000. 
  • Measurement requires information on pregnancy status, timing of death (during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy), and cause of death.

Source:TH