SHOAIB SHAIKH | NT Staff Reporter
PANAJI
Even as Goa boasts of better facilities in the health sector compared to other states of the country, the infant mortality rate in rural areas of the state does not point to a happy trend.
Though the 2015 state average IMR of 15.42 is better when compared to the national IMR of 37, the number of infant deaths in the rural Goa is increasing year by year, as per the statistics.
Data from the registrar of births and deaths reveals that the IMR in the rural areas for the year 2011 was 19.66 per thousand live births, which increased to 22.12 infant deaths in 2012.
However, in 2013 the number decreased to 19.05, but in 2014 the IMR stood at 25.32 and went up to 28.45 infant deaths per thousand live births in rural areas.
However, the IMR in the urban areas, as per RBD data, is far better. In 2011 the IMR recorded in urban areas was 1.69 per thousand live births, while in 2012 it was 2.65 and declined to 0.78 infant deaths per thousand live births.
However, the number increased to 1.68 infant deaths per thousand live births in 2014 and further increased to 2.38 in 2015.
Chief medical officer of the State Family Welfare Bureau Dr Vandana Dhume said that one of the reasons for the data indicating an increase in the IMR in rural areas could be improvement in reporting the number of death cases.
She said, “About three years ago we developed software and every death report has to be fed into the software. So improved reporting could be one of the factors, but not the absolute reason for the increasing IMR.”
Dhume stated that according to observations made from the available statistics with the health department, the major cause for infant deaths in Goa is congenital defects. The number of deaths due to congenital defects makes up to about 35 per cent of the total infant deaths.
The other major reasons for neonatal deaths are infections and abscess, she added.
According to medical records, three causes accounted for 78 per cent of all neonatal deaths in India, which included prematurity and low birth weight, neonatal infections and birth asphyxia and birth trauma.
However, she further added that the numbers too vary according to the different statistical data available. Interestingly, while the average IMR according to the sample registration system 2014 was 10, the data of the RBD states that the average IMR for the year 2014 was 13.50.
The SFWB has made it mandatory that every pregnant woman undergoes several fundamental and important antenatal tests to avoid complications during the term of pregnancy or to the new born.
A thyroid function test during the early pregnancy and diabetes test are conducted. Venereal disease research laboratory or rapid plasma reagin test of the pregnant lady for sexually transmitted diseases is also conducted, she said.
The directorate of health services considers the data from the four urban health centres along with the Goa Medical College and Hospital and the two district hospitals as urban data, while the RBD considers data from all the municipal councils and the corporation as urban data. For RBD the data collected from the panchayats is ‘rural statistics’.
