SHILLONG, Nov 23: The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) have come down slightly in the state although a large number of infants and mothers continue to lose their lives.
Statistics released by the government said, 1,549 infants died from March-October this year compared to 1,982 infants from March-October 2020.
The total maternal deaths decreased from 164 from March-October 2020 to 158 during the corresponding period this year.
The total reported deliveries in 2020 (March-October) was 56,622 while the total reported deliveries during the same period this year was 53,143.
Expressing concern over the high IMR and MMR in the state, Mission Director of NHM, Ram Kumar said: “We are not recognising this as a problem and I am sad to say that many of the educated urban and rural women don’t think this to be a problem.”
Stating that a lot of mothers and children have died, he said high MMR and IMR should become an important conversation in society and educate women to avoid early pregnancy and maintain a gap between the births of two children.
The mission director said many pregnant women are being tracked through the Mother’s App the government has come up with. The health workers are also identifying, tracking and ensuring that pregnant women come for institutional delivery.
The app revealed 65.55% of the 4,133 deliveries during the past 30 days in the state were institutional. It also said there were eight maternal deaths and 67 stillbirths during this period while 704 babies had low birth weight.