In the last 17 months, from January 2021 to May 2022, over 22,751 children in the age group of up to five years have died in the state according to a reply received to a Right to Information Act query by ‘Samarthan’, an organization working on children’s rights and health issues. Of these, 19, 673 were cases where the infant was stillborn.
As per the reply, Mumbai recorded the maximum deaths at 1,898, followed by 1,741 in Nagpur, 1,349 in Aurangabad, 1,127 in Nashik, 1,181 in Pune, 1,049 in Akola, 1,026 in Nandurbar and 1,015 in Thane.
The spike in stillbirths recorded in the last 17 months is believed to be due to the Covid pandemic. A recent study, conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Research in Reproductive Health (NIRRH), found a higher frequency of severe Covid-19 and intensive care admissions among pregnant women and more maternal deaths between February and May 2021 compared with the same period in 2020.
According to UNICEF, in the last two decades India has reduced its stillbirth rate by 53% – from 29.6 per 1000 live births to 13.9 between 2000 and 2019. However, the pandemic threatens to reverse these gains.
The number of stillbirths among mothers infected with Covid-19 doubled during the second wave of the pandemic. According to UNICEF figures, there were 34 stillbirths per 1000 live births between February 2021 and May 2021 compared with the first wave that saw 15 per 1000 live births between April 2020 and January 2021. Both years the number of such deaths were significantly higher than the 13.9 recorded in 2019.
According to a global study published in JAMA Paediatrics in April this year, women with Covid-19 during pregnancy were 50% more likely to experience premature birth and pre-eclampsia, and require intensive care. The risk of maternal mortality was 22 times higher than those without Covid.
25/08/2022
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