Shillong, Oct 28: Meghalaya government’s efforts to reduce Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is paying dividends thanks to several policy interventions over the past few years.

According to the Health Management Information System, one of the most important aspects, MMR has come down over the years. Currently, Meghalaya has registered 107 maternal deaths till January this year.

Although even one death is unfortunate, there is a silver lining because this rate was 243 per 1 lakh live births in 2020-2021, came down to 155 in 2022-23 and now it’s 107. So there are some positive results.

There are several other positive indicators when it comes to MMR. The coverage for the first trimester is now 46 percent. Some districts have registered over 50 percent, like East Khasi Hills (54.5%) and South West Khasi Hills (56.5%).

There are others, West Jaintia Hills, West Khasi Hills, North Garo Hills, however, where the coverage has not been satisfactory and these districts have registered just over 30 percent, which health officials said efforts are on to bring the coverage up.

The Antenatal Care (ANC) coverage for four or more in the state is 77 percent. ANC coverage is an indicator of access to health care during pregnancy. ANC can help identify groups at high risk of adverse events during pregnancy, and can improve maternal and newborn health outcomes.

West Jaintia Hills (34.8%) and East Jaintia Hills (44.9%) are some of the districts where the ANC coverage can be termed as poor and again the health officials are trying to bring this figure up to a healthy level.

When it comes to another important factor, institutional deliveries, the state has some catching up to do as it is way below the national average. The institutional deliveries in the state are now 71 percent and home deliveries 29 percent.

But still this figure is lower than the national average, which is over 95 percent for institutional deliveries. This 71 percent institutional deliveries has to be seen in the context that in 2021-22 the figure was 57.2 percent.

Therefore, there are some positive indicators, but still there is a lot of room for improvement and so the recent signing of an agreement with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to further reduce the MMR is a step in the right direction.

Moreover, other interventions of the government include the MOTHER App through which pregnant women can be registered and they can be monitored by doctors. The app collects data on age, risk factors, health conditions, delivery and vaccination dates, and several other facilities provided.

The Chief Minister Safe Motherhood Schemes provides transit homes for high-risk pregnant women, transportation support for Auxiliary Midwife Nurses (ANMs), and dedicated vehicles for transporting pregnant women to health facilities.

The Meghalaya Maternity Benefit Scheme providing financial support for antenatal care and institutional deliveries are just some of the few interventions the government has taken to arrest the high MMR.

Under the Village Health Nutrition Day, the objective is to increase ANC check-ups and immunizations and through the Transit Homes the state government provides certain facilities for high-risk mothers such as food, space for their children, and transportation.

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