By sumanOn

Epidemiological aspects of maternal and child health

Epidemiology: “Epidemiology is the study of health-related events among people and communities. With the information gather, we try to prevent and Control Health Problems.”

Maternal and Child Health:

  • Health of women throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period is referred to as maternal health.
  • To ensure that women and their unborn children achieve their maximum potential for health and wellbeing, each stage should be enjoyable.
  • In addition to indirect factors including anaemia, malaria, and heart disease, the most frequent direct causes of maternal harm and mortality include excessive blood loss, infection, high blood pressure, missed and incomplete abortion, and obstructed delivery.
  • With prompt intervention by a qualified health practitioner working in a supportive atmosphere, the majority of maternal deaths can be avoided.
  • The elimination of unnecessary maternal deaths must continue to be a key priority for the world. However, merely making it through pregnancy and delivery cannot serve as a benchmark for effective maternal health care. In order to enhance health and wellbeing, it is essential to increase measures aimed at preventing maternal injury and disability.
  • Every pregnancy and delivery are different. To guarantee that all women have access to respectful and excellent maternity care, it is essential to address inequities that have an impact on health outcomes, particularly those related to sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender.

The Sustainable Development Goals:

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced on September 25, 2015, and they became effective on January 1, 2016, lasting for 15 years until December 31, 2030.

SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages is one of the 17 SDGs, and it contains the specific health-related aims. When the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which covered the period through the end of 2015, were extended by the United Nations Member States. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and partners produced a consensus statement and strategy paper on eradicating preventable maternal mortality (EPMM) in advance of the introduction of the SDGs.

The SDG objective 3.1, “Reduce global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to less than 70 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births by 2030,” was taken from the EPMM aim. These targets were supplemented with a number of global, national, and subnational EPMM indicators to emphasise the necessity of expanding access to high-quality maternal health care and enhancing women’s autonomy over their sexual and reproductive health.

Maternal mortality in the area is an indicator of the reproductive health of the community’s women. Many women in their reproductive years die as a result of complications during and after pregnancy, childbirth, or abortion.

According to the World Health Organisation, “Maternal death is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, regardless of the duration and location of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.”
The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), which is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a certain time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period, is one of the primary indicators of maternal mortality.
India is steadily progressing towards the Sustainable Development Goal of lowering the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to fewer than 70 per lakh live births by 2030.
MMR reduced from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20.

The Government of India’s concerted actions with the goal of addressing all elements of maternal care have resulted in a continuous drop in MMR over the last nine years.

The MMR in the nation gradually decreased from 130 in 2014–2016 to 122 in 2015–17, 113 in 2016–18, 103 in 2017–19, and 97 in 2018–20. In an effort to reduce maternal mortality, the government has focused primarily on addressing the real causes of mortality and illness among women and providing remedies to eradicate these causes.

The focus has been on providing quality healthcare facilities to expectant mothers from the early stages of pregnancy to postpartum care in order to ensure a continuum of care to address maternal and child health in a holistic manner.

The implementation of programmes like Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA/ Pledge for 9TH Clinic), Surakshit Matrutva Aashwasan (SUMAN), Labour Room & Quality Improvement Initiative (LaQshya), National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS), Kayakalp, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Janani Suraksha Yojna (JSY), Reproductive and Child Health (RCH), and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)  etc, with a view towards the need for a variety of medical facilities, from testing to routine Antenatal check-ups, Early identification of High risk pregnancies and complications, Standardization of facilities along with availability of skilled and competent health care workers as well as well-equipped hospitals for a painless delivery and postnatal care for both mother and child.

Health Indicators with Source and Target:

Conclusion: Maternal and Child health refers to the health of women and her child during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period. Each stage should be a positive experience, ensuring women and their babies reach their full potential for health and well-being. By doing the constant monitoring and evaluation with the implementation of quality care as well as by enhancing the knowledge and skills of health care practician’s, Nurses, Midwives, ANM’s Doctors, Paramedical staffs and future health care workers we may able to reach the SDG goal.

Reference:

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