Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Government may boast of providing health services
to people in rural areas, but the maternal mortality rate (MMR) in the state
touches 517 for every one lakh pregnant women, against 301, the MMR of
India.
Everyday, 75 pregnant women die in UP. Many of them suffer from anaemia and
die due to excessive bleeding during delivery. The startling figures came up
in a recent sample research survey , conducted by the state office of the
National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). For the first time, the SRS has also
indicated the reasons for the high count of maternal mortality in UP.
Amita Jain, scale up manager for the Academy for Educational Development (AED)
and a support provider to the NRHM in the state, said: “The NRHM focuses on
rural health, especially women. This data will help the programme and the
support agencies to chalk out concrete plans for women.”
Though the state government has launched the Janani Suraksha Yojna under the
NRHM to ensure safe delivery, lack of proper medical facilities and basic
amenities like surgical cotton and oxygen support at the primary health
centres and the community health centres have affected the operation of the
scheme.
