title: State of newborn health in India.
abstract: About 0.75 million neonates die every year in India, the highest for any country in the world. The neonatal mortality rate (NMR) declined from 52 per 1000 live births in 1990 to 28 per 1000 live births in 2013, but the rate of decline has been slow and lags behind that of infant and under-five child mortality rates. The slower decline has led to increasing contribution of neonatal mortality to infant and under-five mortality. Among neonatal deaths, the rate of decline in early neonatal mortality rate (ENMR) is much lower than that of late NMR. The high level and slow decline in early NMR are also reflected in a high and stagnant perinatal mortality rate. The rate of decline in NMR, and to an extent ENMR, has accelerated with the introduction of National Rural Health Mission in mid-2005. Almost all states have witnessed this phenomenon, but there is still a huge disparity in NMR between and even within the states. The disparity is further compounded by rural-urban, poor-rich and gender differentials. There is an interplay of different demographic, educational, socioeconomic, biological and care-seeking factors, which are responsible for the differentials and the high burden of neonatal mortality. Addressing inequity in India is an important cross-cutting action that will reduce newborn mortality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sankar
authors.affiliation: Indian Institute of Public Health (Delhi), Public Health Foundation of India, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Neogi
authors.affiliation: Indian Institute of Public Health (Delhi), Public Health Foundation of India, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Indian Institute of Public Health (Delhi), Public Health Foundation of India, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chauhan
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Prabhakar
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khera
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Indian Institute of Public Health (Delhi), Public Health Foundation of India, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zodpey
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: V K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Paul
mesh_terms: D002423:Cause of Death; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D000068104:Infant Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D016730:Program Development; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population