To check the maternal mortality rate in India, health experts have stressed on changing the traditional treatment and delivery system being practised in most villages.

At the 50th All-India Congress of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, the annual meeting of The Federation of Obstetric & Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), gynaecologists from across the globe advocated the need to adopt advanced strategies practised in some of the countries in Africa.

“Lack of access and inadequate utilisation of healthcare facilities are responsible for maternal deaths in India. Countries like Mozambique have made good progress in reducing maternal mortality ratio (MMR),” explained Staffan Bergstrom, from Sweden.

Bergstrom added that the healthcare facilities in remote areas of countries like India are virtually absent, with no specialist doctors and advanced treatment facilities.

“In a number of countries with low per capita income, there is a scarcity of specialist doctors. Non-specialist doctors do major surgeries and fail to diagnose complications. Besides, many medical and clinical officers are being trained to perform surgeries in remote places, where specialists are not available. This is very risky,” Bergstrom explained.

“We should remember that children’s health is directly related to mother’s health. The MMR reflect the health of our nation. So, we should introduce advanced facilities in our villages,” said Gita Ganguly Mukherjee, former head of obstetrics and gynaecology, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

In India, one of 48 expecting mothers is at risk of dying during childbirth. According to the data of National Health Policy 2002, the MMR in India is as high as 407 per 100,000 live births. Other sources have put the MMR as high as 540 (NHFS and Unicef data, 2000).

“The chances of death of an Indian mother during childbirth is roughly 10 times more than that of her Chinese counterpart,” said Bergstrom.

India and other Third World countries have set a goal to reduce the MMR by three-quarters by 2015.