The State of World's Mothers 2012 report by international child rights NGO 'Save the Children' has seen India slipping one position down from the 75th spot of last year's report.
According to the report, which looks at how good the life of a woman or a mother is around the globe, one out of every 140 women in India runs the risk of dying during childbirth, which is a much higher figure compared to neighbouring nations such as China and Sri Lanka.
In China, one in 1,500 women runs the risk of maternal death, while it is one in 1,100 in Sri Lanka and one in 180 in Myanmar.
The study also found that less than half (49 per cent) of women in India use some form of modern contraceptives and only 53 per cent of births are attended by skilled health workers, which is the fifth lowest in all of Tier II countries.
With 43 per cent of underweight children in under-five age group, India has the highest rate of child malnutrition of all Tier II countries and the second highest rate in the world (tied with Yemen) after Timor-Leste.
"Even though India has made efforts to improve maternal health by encouraging institutional deliveries and taking other measures, the benefits have not yet appeared to bring about a shift," CEO of Save the Children India, Thomas Chandy said.
"This report shows that even now almost half of our births take place in the absence of skilled health personnel. This has a direct bearing on mothers' health and, due to the strong dependence of children on mothers, also on children's health," he said. (More)
