- Authors: Sangita Vyas, Aashish Gupta, Payal Hathi
- Forthcoming in Demography
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Maternal mortality levels and gaps have been difficult to study in low- and middle-income countries, where most maternal deaths occur, due to underdeveloped vital registration systems. Using Demographic and Health Survey data, this study is the first to describe and decompose inequalities in maternal mortality across social group in India, a country with deep social inequalities and the largest population in the world. Relative to high-caste Hindus, the maternal mortality ratio among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is about double or more, and among Muslims and Other Backward Classes is more than 1.5 times higher. These disparities are larger than social group disparities in child and adult mortality in India. They cannot be explained by differences between marginalized and privileged groups in age composition, fertility, or economic status. Findings underscore the global imperative to address maternal health disparities rooted in social inequalities within, in addition to across, populations.
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