Shame: Infant mortality rates in three SoBo wards worse than nat’l average

Shame: Infant mortality rates in three SoBo wards worse than nat’l average

In Chira Bazar & Kalbadevi, It’s 853 Against India’s 44

Mumbai: Four wards in the city, including three in south Mumbai, have recorded infant mortality rates (IMR) way worse than the national average, showed an RTI reply from the BMC. IMR is calculated as the number of baby deaths per 1,000 live births.
    Several wards with a sizeable slum population projected a worrying picture, but the silver lining came in the revelation that the overall rate of children dying in the city before their first birthday has marginally improved.
    The RTI reply on infant births and deaths for Mumbai between April last year and March this year has shown that wards C, G, E and M have fared the worst when it comes to newborns (see box). Ward C, which covers the densely populated Kalbadevi, Chira Bazar and Bhuleshwar areas, showed an astonishing death rate of 853. In simple terms, there were 216 deaths in the
area for 253 births.
    The city’s IMR has fallen to 28 from 29.5 in 2011, 33.5 in 2009 and 35 in 2005. This is much lower than the national average of 44 deaths.
    Areas like Lower Parel, Mahalaxmi and Worlishowed a mortality rate of 123, almost triplethe national rate.Byculla,Mazgaon andthe adjoining areas recorded an IMR of 60, way more than the national, state and city’s average.
    Infant mortality rate is a significant benchmark of the public healthcare system, with experts saying it reflects the future of a society and child as well as maternal health. A senior BMC health expert told TOI that the numbers have to be analyzed keeping in mind several variables. “We have to consider that Mumbai’s tertiary hospitals get patients from all over the country. Also, wards with more hospitals will show a higher number of deaths but that would not be a correct reflection of the situation.”
    Interestingly, the suburbs showed a healthier trend, with areaslikeBandra,Khar, Santacruz and Andheri showing a mortality ratebetween 17 and 20 (see box). But a swathe in central Mumbai hadwards recording IMRbordering 40.
    The RTI filed by activist Chetan Kothari also revealed howoutof 5,971deathsin children below five, 5,161 deaths (86%) were among babies less than a year old. “Around 45% of infant deaths occur in neonatal (0-28days) stage and infection, low birth weight and nutrition are the main killers,” saidDr JayashreeMondkar, head of neonatology at the civic-run Sion Hospital.
    Dr Shanti Panthvaidya, executive director of NGO SNEHA, said at least 4% kids in urban slums are severely malnourished while another 11% are moderately malnourished. “Migration has a huge bearing on the city’s IMR as migrating population are the most vulnerable,” she said.