Maternal Death Committee -- which works at various civic levels in the state -- seems to have done little to contain the number of deaths
The health ministry’s initiative to appoint committee to study the reasons responsible for maternal deaths is proving of little help as 565 deaths were recorded in the state, starting April this year.u00a0As per data available with the state health department, 40 per cent of maternal deaths occur due to complications at the time of delivery, followed by 20 per cent due to obstetrical haemorrhage or blood loss at the time of delivery.
Mother care: Many women fall prey to diseases such as anemia, which could cause complications during delivery Representation Pic
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“About 40 per cent deaths occur due to unavoidable complications such as kidney-related disease, pneumonia, etc.,” said Sudhakar Kokane, deputy director, state family welfare department.
Various committees were formed to determine the reason behind this phenomena and list out precautionary measures that can be taken by the mother in order to avoid complications during delivery. In the last one-year, i.e. April 2012 to March 2013, about 1,402 maternal deaths took place in the state, of which around 20 per cent deaths occurred due to obstetrical haemorrhage or blood loss at the time of delivery.
The committee’s findings (copy available with MiD DAY) suggest that despite forming of the committee, there has been no decrease in the number of deaths in mothers during delivery as the figures have more or less remained the same over years.
Healthy attempt
“Committees are formed at various levels in the district such as the corporation, zilla parishad, etc. Through these committees necessary steps are taken to bring down the number of maternal death due to avoidable circumstances,” informed Kokaneu00a0“Though there is an increase in the number of institutional deliveries lack emergency medical care at govt hospitals. Eclampsia deaths are increasing due non-availability of the emergency medical care. There are many PHC’s and rural hospitals, which are made of mere rooms and many are run without doctors. The other reason is socio-economic, more women are falling prey to anemia, which plays a major role in maternal deaths,” informed Dr Anand Phadke, director, SAATHI-CEHAT, a city-based NGO.
Expert speak
“Deaths due to the hemorrhage and eclampsia can be avoided to a major extent. Hemorrhagic deaths can be prevented by good antenatal care. Like that deaths due to hypertension and anemia can be prevented by regular health checkups. Early diagnosis and early treatment will help to reduce maternal deaths,” Dr Ramesh Bhosale, head of the gynecology department in Sassoon.
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