Kolhapur: Chief executive officer of the zilla parishad (ZP) Kunal Khemnar and other district authorities reviewed the status of the schemes implemented to bring down infant and maternal mortality rates on Saturday.Following this, Khemnar said the rate of maternal mortality and infant mortality is on decline. The meeting was also attended by district health authorities. The state has set a target of bringing down maternal mortality numbers from 68 to 60 per one lakh women by 2020. Over the last one year, 21 pregnant women died and the maternal mortality rate is now 48.Maternal mortality rate (MMR) is defined as the number of deaths of pregnant women per one lakh live births, where the cause of death is directly attributed to pregnancy or a pregnancy-related complication.Khemnar said that some decisions they had taken will help reduce both maternal as well as infant mortality rates. “Health service providers should carry out all the tests of pregnant women and identify those cases where the woman needs further treatment. People should be more aware about the ambulance service provided to pregnant women so they can be attended on time,” he said.The infant mortality rate for the district is 15 deaths per one lakh infants born. Around 124 infants died during 2017-18 in the district’s rural areas. Earlier in 2016-17, altogether 158 infants died.The infant mortality rate for the district is much lower than the state average of 19 deaths. Lack of antenatal or pre-delivery care, low patient registration and nutritional anaemia in mothers are the primary causes.Most of the deaths occur in families belonging to the low-income groups. The ZP has decided to set up a newborn care corner at every sub-divisional primary health centre to take care of the infants.“A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed with radiologists from across the district to check the health of the infant during pregnancy. We have found that deformities in the foetus are one of the main reasons for infant mortality,” the CEO said.

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