Maternal Mortality in India: A Review of Trends and Patterns

Abstract

High maternal mortality in India, particularly across empowered action group (EAG) states, is a critical policy concern. This paper discusses the trends and patterns in reduction in maternal mortality in India, and focuses on highlighting inter- and intra-state disparities. We find that the trends in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) for the past two decades (particularly, the rate of decline) do not commensurate well with the observed improvements in the socioeconomic indicators of the country. Huge inter-state and intra-state disparities in the MMR constitute a major policy concern. For instance, the MMR reported for the EAG/Assam group was 438 in 2001-03 and 257 in 2010-12, almost five times higher than that of Kerala (MMR 66), which has the least MMR of all states.