BENGALURU: Despite Karnataka recording a Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) lower than the national average, gaps in antenatal care (ANC) — especially in diagnostics and routine check-ups — continue to put pregnant women at serious risk, according to a report.
The study, “Making Antenatal Diagnostics Work”, by Sattva Knowledge Institute and Jhpiego India, which works to ensure availability of a skilled health workforce, reveals that only 67.5% of pregnant women in Karnataka undergo four or more antenatal care (ANC) tests — significantly behind states such as Kerala (93%), Goa (92.1%), and TN (90.6%), where ANC coverage is more.
Although Karnataka performs better than the national average of 58.5%, the report highlights that the coverage is still not enough to catch complications early and prevent maternal deaths.
The report highlights how diagnostic tools essential for monitoring anaemia, BP, infections, and heart conditions are either unavailable or underused at the community level. Even though non-invasive haemoglobin monitors, BP devices, and portable ECG tools are available, they have not been widely adopted beyond pilot projects.
One key reason is that frontline health workers such as ASHA and anganwadi staff lack access to training, easy-to-use equipment, and integration of diagnostics into their daily work. Many tools have not been designed with rural women in mind and do not account for local conditions or workloads of field workers. As a result, early warning signs are frequently missed. The findings call for urgent reforms in maternal healthcare.
Key findings
Of the 464 deaths, 319 (nearly 69%) were classified as high-risk pregnancies. Bengaluru Urban registered the highest number of maternal deaths with 49 high-risk and 22 non-high-risk cases.
Around 380 deaths were reported during or shortly after childbirth, while 84 during pregnancy. Among the 380 post-delivery deaths, 238 occurred after cesarean sections and 142 after normal vaginal deliveries.
Half of the deceased women were aged between 19 and 25, while 6% of them were above 35.
Around 72% of women were either first-time or second-time mothers.
High-Risk Pregnancies: Nearly 69% of women had pre-existing risk factors such as hypertension, heart diseases, diabetes, or infections.
Place of death: Of the 464 deaths, 305 were reorted in government hospitals, 103 in private facilities, 45 during transit, and 11 at home.