Delhi: 16 women die after delivery every month in four major state hospitals, says RTI

New Delhi: Despite efforts to bring down the maternal mortality rate, 16 women die after childbirth every month in four major government hospitals of Delhi. The hospitals made this information available in response to separate applications filed by PTI-Bhasha under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. According to the information received, 1,281 women died after childbirth between January 2015 and September 2021 at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML), Safdarjung Hospital and Sucheta Kriplani Hospital. According to information, the worst situation is of Safdarjung Hospital, where in the last 81 months, on an average, more than 11 women lost their lives after delivery every month. The RTI applications had asked how many babies were born in these hospitals between January 2015 and July 2021, how many women died after delivery and what was the reason for their death. In response, Safdarjung and Sucheta Kriplani Hospitals provided numbers up to September 2021, while the other two hospitals provided figures up to July 2021. According to the information received, more than 2.73 lakh children were born in the four hospitals during this period. Safdarjung Hospital said between January 2015 and September 2021, more than 1.68 lakh children were born and 943 women died after delivery. However, the hospital did not give reasons for the women’s death. The lowest maternal mortality rate after delivery was in AIIMS and between January 2015 and July 2021, 29 women died after the birth of their baby. Fifty-nine women died at RML Hospital during this period while in Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, 250 women died after delivery. Barring Safdarjung, all three hospitals reported that life-threatening infections, excessive bleeding, septic strokes, heart attacks and impaired bowel function were the main causes of women’s death after cesarean delivery. Many women also lost their lives due to liver disease, blood clots in the arteries of the lungs, severe anemia, blood infection, breathing problems, uterine rupture, tuberculosis and complications arising from covid. According to a recently released special bulletin by the Registrar General of India, there has been a decline of 10 points in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the country. It states that between 2017 and 2019, the MMR in India declined to 103. The Union government has launched several initiatives, including the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, Safe Motherhood Assurance Scheme and Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), to reduce maternal mortality.