Referring to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-21,UnicefinChhattisgarhhas said that around 68% children in the state do not get breast milk within an hour of birth and more than 18,000 babies die every year within 28 days of birth due to lack of proper care.
Less than a week ago, the Chhattisgarh government had cited a Union Government report of 2020-21 to say that neonatal and infant mortality rates have dropped by 23% and 18%.
The Unicef state chief said only 32% mothers in Chhattisgarh are able to breastfeed babies 1 hour after birth because in hospital, babies are often kept under separate supervision from the mother immediately after birth, so breastfeeding is not done at the right time. He pointed out that breastfeeding within an hour of birth is extremely important for proper Nutrition and development of babies. In order to spread awareness on the health significance of breast milk for newborn babies, Unicef has initiated awareness campaigns in rural and urban areas of Chhattisgarh, he said.
Quoting NFHSs data for Chhattisgarh, Unicef says that 13% babies in Chhattisgarh weigh less than 2.5kg at birth. As many as 26,000 children die before their first birthday, out of which 250 children were found to be suffering from heart-related problems since birth, Unicef said. The rest die because of diseases and lack of proper care, it added. According to NFHS, only 10% of children in Chhattisgarh are getting enough food, 30% of children below 5 years of age are underweight and 35% children are dwarfed, plus there are 10 lakh children in the state who are underweight, Unicef said, quoting from the NFHS report.
Quoting the NFHS data of 2020-21, Dr Mishra said that the decline in mortality rate has been reported accurately as 23% in neonatal, 18% in infants and 22% in children below five years of age as compared to NFHS-4 of 2015-16. According to data released by the central government, institutional delivery in Chhattisgarh has increased from 70% in 2015-16 to 86% in 2020-21, the government said. There has been a 25% increase in deliveries in government health institutions.