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  • Title: Maternal and child health in India: a critical review.
    Author: Sinha NK.
    Journal: Health Millions; 1995 Oct; 21(Souvenir):37-46. PubMed ID: 12290961.
    Abstract:
    The Lady Dufferin Fund, founded in 1885 in India, had by 1940 established 400 hospitals to alleviate diseases and mortality related to childbirth. After independence 2328 community health centers and 21254 primary health centers were created in the country. During 1974-94 more than 131,000 subcenters were set up and about 620,000 auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) had been trained. The Ministry of Health introduced four health prevention schemes in 1969: 1) immunization of children against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus; 2) immunization of pregnant women against tetanus; 3) prophylaxis of mothers and children against nutritional anemia; and 4) prophylaxis of children against blindness caused by vitamin A deficiency. As a result, infant mortality declined from 146/1000 live births to 74/1000 in 1993; but maternal mortality still stayed around 4-5/1000. In 1993 an estimated 117,356 maternal deaths occurred out of a total of 26,057,000 births, equalling 4.5 deaths per 1000 live births. The main causes of maternal deaths are hemorrhage, anemia, abortion, toxemia, and puerperal sepsis. Only about 411 first referral units in community health centers are functioning properly. Prenatal care of mothers includes the administration of tetanus toxoid and iron-folic acid tablets. However, the prenatal coverage reached only about 50% of mothers; and the coverage was only 21.4% in Bihar, 23.8% in Nagaland, 29.3% in Rajasthan, and 29.6% in Uttar Pradesh. In these areas administrative inefficiency is widespread with nonavailability of essential drugs for malaria, infections, sepsis, dysentery, and colds. During 1992-93 the rate of hospital deliveries ranged from 6.1% in Nagaland to 88.4% in Kerala, with a national average of only 25.6%. 71% of deliveries in rural areas and 30% in urban areas were conducted by untrained assistants. Although there are 450 ANM training schools in the country, the level of training has deteriorated. The major causes of infant deaths are respiratory infections and diarrhea, responsible for 13.5% and 6.9% of mortality, respectively. Severe malnutrition and inadequate vaccination are other major causes of child deaths and morbidity.
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