Haemorrhage is one of major causes of maternal deaths in India

New Delhi: Haemorrhage is one of the main reasons behind maternal deaths in the country while prematurity and low birth weight are the causes of infant
mortality, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

"The major causes of maternal deaths as per Registrar General of India, Sample Registration System (RGI-SRS) (2001-03) are haemorrhage (38 per cent occur mainly because of postpartum haemorrhage), sepsis (11 per cent because of any
infection during pregnancy, labour and in postpartum period), abortion (8 per cent because of unsafe abortions)... "...Hypertensive disorders (5 per cent because of high blood pressure during pregnancy), obstructed labor (5 per cent) and other causes (34 per cent- includes anaemia and various other causes)," Union Health Minister J P Nadda told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

He said that the major causes of infant mortality as per RGI-SRS (2010-13) are prematurity and low birth weight (35.9 per cent), pneumonia (16.9 per cent), birth asphyxia and birth trauma (9.9 per cent). "...other non-communicable diseases (7.9 per cent), diarrhoeal diseases (6.7 per cent), ill-defined (4.6 per cent), congenital anomalies (4.6 per cent), infections (4.2 per cent), injuries (2.1 per cent), fever of unknown origin (1.7 per cent), other causes (5.4 percent)," Nadda said.

He said that the data on infant mortality rate and child mortality rate is captured in the fourth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) and all the states and Union Territories, except Tripura have shown a decline in IMR between NFHS-3 and NFHS-4. The Union Health minister said that Bihar, Madhya Pradesh
and Meghalaya have shown a decline of 13, 18 and 14 points respectively in Infant mortality rate.