Maternal Mortality Research Paper

The right to good health, sanitation and care is a basic human right as it is directly associated with right to life of a person. The constitution of India clearly states in its Chapter III that protection and fulfillment of right to health for all is a fundamental right and the same should be accessible, available and affordable to all irrespective of their caste, sex or religion. In a country like India women have customary “double burden” due to poverty and other allied reasons. They are the homemakers and workers. But sometimes they end up playing triple roles. While they are pregnant they even have to play the role of child bearing and child rearing which is inevitable.

The economic liabilities have a direct bearing on the health of women

It has been observed that the ratio of maternal mortality is much higher in developing countries than developed countries and the primary reason being that there is lack of education, availability of services and poverty. In India apart from these reasons, gender discrimination has also been a very big reason behind maternal mortality. The women at home are discriminated against and have no right to choose. They are not given access to good health care services and are under a lot of household work pressure. Therefore in India apart from these health care services the women empowerment programs have played a very important role in curbing this

But sadly more than 43% of these children are under weight and 48% have stunted growth. According to UNICEF and World Bank report of 2013 the mortality rate of children under 5years of age is 53 per 1000 live births in India. Also India is on 112th position in the world in the Child Development Index. Here few of the most common reasons behind child mortality are neonatal tetanus, catching of deadly diseases because they are not given immunization or lack of nutrition in their body because of lack of nutrition in their mothers during pregnancy. Neonatal tetanus deaths are very high in India specially Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. This is a infection caused to the child or newborn by tetanus organism. Due to poor medical facilities or deliveries at home sterilized instruments are not used for cutting the umbilical cord. Tetanus usually develops in first two weeks of delivery and in most of the cases the chances of survival are less as it is fatal in nature. Therefore in the year 19785 the tetanus immunization programme was introduced which was then made the part of Immunization programme of 1978. Further when the universal Immunization Programme came in 1985, in the national immunization schedule it was made compulsory for every woman to take two doses of the tetanus toxoid injection