How important is birth environment for you now?

Environmental factors at birth, such as temperature and altitude, can affect the baby's fertility later, show recent studies

15 million newborns in India are not breastfed in the first hour

This is happening when 80 per cent of deliveries are taking place in health facilities, says a report

Musings on the Independence of the Other India

Even after 71 years of independence, 1 in 11 children in India is a child labourer, 1 in every 3 is malnourished, only 3 in every 10 children …

Burden of child brides: Bihar, Rajasthan lead states in marrying off girls early  

Southern states such as Tamil Nadu and Telangana are not doing any better, finds National Health Profile 2018

Infographic: Maternal mortality in India

India has improved its maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to 97 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018-2020 from 103 in 2017-2019. Still, in 11 …

Anaemia: India needs social norms-based interventions at every phase of a woman’s life

While behaviour change communication for drug adherence and knowledge of anaemia as a serious disease is needed, challenging detrimental social …

Centre defers decision to restrict production of yield-boosting hormone for two months

Decision comes after various states said oxytocin is very important to prevent human maternal mortality

Postpartum haemorrhage remains leading cause of maternal deaths in Kerala: Report 

According the National Health Portal of India, PPH accounts for 35 per cent of all maternal deaths

International Women's Day: Empower to protect the womb and newborn

Transmission of latent toxic risk from air pollution through womb forever is not acceptable

Lessons from Kenya on how to boost breastfeeding rates

The country increased its number of breastfed babies to 61% in 2014 from 13% in 2003

Electing India’s health transformation

The new government must convene a meeting of central and state health ministers annually, to build consensus across the political spectrum and …

Care of the pregnant: Half-hearted attitude

The first 1,000 days of life offer the window of opportunity to reduce maternal and child mortality. It’s time India made the most of it 

India improves maternal mortality ratio, but poorer states yet to make progress

This is a considerable improvement from the 130 deaths per lakh in 2014-2016

Less out-of-pocket expenditure for births in public facilities in rural areas, NFHS-5 finds

The latest figures suggest that Manipur spends more OOPE in both rural and urban areas, whereas Gujarat spends less among states and Dadra and …

India recorded 24,000 maternal deaths in 2020, second only to Nigeria, UN report shows

Globally, there were 287,000 maternal deaths in 2020, only a marginal improvement from 309,000 in 2016 when the Sustainable Development Goals …

Child health programme failed to deliver in 100 countries: WHO

A paper presented at the Alma Ata declaration said less than half of the women in the world get the four mandatory ante-natal check-ups done

UN: Progress in tackling maternal as well as newborn deaths stagnant since 2015

India tops the list of 10 countries which bear 60% of global maternal deaths, stillbirths & newborn deaths burden

Customary and religious laws are impeding progress towards women’s health in Nigeria

The country has the second-largest HIV epidemic in the world; its women make up more than half of people living with the disease  

Decaying health sector is a chronic problem for Somalia

An overview of statistics shows why achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 3 target for Somalia by 2030 is critical, but far-fetched

This mobile application saves expectant mothers in India

Designed by a Chennai-based gynaecologist, the technology gives medical details of pregnant women to doctors to enable timely treatment 

Child birth: Govt doctors either leave women scarred or refuse care

Several women end up giving birth on roads, which raises a question on the medical fraternity’s ethical and humanitarian values

How Nuh’s maternal mortality rate dropped 32 points in just 4 years

Incentivising institutional deliveries don’t necessarily ensure a pregnant woman’s nutritional health 

Inequalities in accessing sexual, reproductive healthcare persist: WHO study 

Rates of unintended pregnancies, abortions vary widely within the same region and geographies, it says

COVID-19 in Africa: Drop in blood donations threat to maternal health, says WHO

In 2017, maternal deaths in sub-Sahara Africa accounted for 66% of the 303,000 maternal deaths recorded globally

COVID-19 disruptions caused 1.4 million unintended pregnancies: Study

An estimated 12 million women faced this disruption to family planning services for a duration of 3.6 months on an average