Data indicates 'worrisome' girl child mortality rates

Data released by the Registrar General of India shows distressing girl child mortality rates with 2009 estimates suggesting 52 deaths within a year of birth out of every 1,000 live births.

Releasing the sample registration system data of Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India C. Chandramouli said the rate of girl child mortality remained higher and was a "worrisome" trend.

While the girl IMR was estimated to be 52 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009, the comparative figure for boy child was just 49 deaths.

Madhya Pradesh had recorded the highest IMR with 67 deaths and the lowest in Kerala at 12 deaths per 1,000 live births. IMR of 28 is the millennium development goal (MDG) set by the United Nations to be achieved by 2015.

While the national average is 3 points drop, the States of Bihar, Karnataka, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, J&K, Andaman and Nicobar islands have reported 4 points decrease.

Meanwhile, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) – number of women dying due to maternal causes per 1, 00, 000 live births – has come down to 212 (2007-09) from 254 in 2004-06, a fall of 17 percent.

The decline has been most significant in Empowered Action Group States and Assam from 375 to 308. Among the Southern States, the decline has been from 149 to 127 and in the Other States from 174 to 149.

"The progress of India on this front is vital for the overall reduction in the world as every fifth woman dying due to maternal causes is an Indian," a statement from the health ministry said.

According to Sample Registration Survey (SRS) 2007-2009, the highest decline in MMR has been observed in Assam (90 points) followed by Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand (81 points), Rajasthan (70 points), Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh (66 points), Bihar/Jharkhand (51 points) and Orissa (45 points).

The MDG target for India is to bring down maternal deaths to 109 by 2015.

"India is making progress but it would take a few more years to reach the goal," said Bhaskar Mishra, Deputy Registrar General, while releasing the figures on Thursday.

Complication during pregnancy and childbirth are leading causes of death among young women in reproductive age.

In India, Sample Registration System (SRS) is the only source for providing direct estimates on maternal mortality for the country and major States, and these estimates are being provided since 1997. In order to generate robust estimates, the Maternal Mortality estimates are generated by pooling three years' data.