57,000 maternal deaths took place in India in 2010 making it six every hour and one every 10 minutes according to a report released by UN.
Though the MMR (Maternal Mortality Rate) has significantly reduced from 437 per one lakh live births in 1999 to 212 now still it is way above when compared to countries Sri Lanka (35), China (37), Thailand (48) and Brazil (56).
India's Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is 109 per one lakh live births by 2015 but looking at current MMR of 212 per one lakh live births it is very unlikely to reach their.
UN Secretary General highlighted the MMR challenge during the launch of the Millennium Development Goals Report.
Frederika Meijer, India Representative for United Nations Population Fund said, "India is moving well on MMR. We have made progress in this regard. The MMR recorded a 38 per cent decline in maternal deaths between 1999 and 2009. There has been progress but we are not there just yet. The Government needs to ensure the availability of Auxiliary Nurses and Midwives closer to the homes of women who are delivering".
"This means one woman is dying every ten minutes. The Government must work to address the issue of unmet need for contraception of women. They need to be counseled to space their children better," Meijer added.
The state with the lowest MMR is Kerala (81).
Maternal deaths: Number of women who die during or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy.
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