Dangerous Motherhood: Exploring Maternal Deaths in Assam -Arunima Deka

Despite recent improvements in the maternal health scenario in rural Assam, it remains the state with the highest number of maternal deaths in the country. Institutional delivery, antenatal care, and postnatal care have been actively promoted by the state to deal with the situation. However, state policies are still incongruously geared towards addressing the issue without taking sufficient note of the various sociocultural impediments in the way of institutional care.

Arunima Deka (mailarunimadeka@gmail.com) is with the OKD Institute of Social Change and Development, Guwahati.

This article is based on the author's doctoral work submitted to the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. The fieldwork was carried in Goalpara in 2011 and 2012. The article only discusses a part of the study. All the names of the respondents have been altered keeping in mind privacy issues.

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