India has witnessed a significant increase in hospital births, with the latest National Family and Health Surveys (NFHS) revealing that births in hospitals have risen from 88.6% to 90.6% between 2019-2021 and 2023-2024.
The survey also shows that more women are opting for private hospitals, with the percentage of births in public health facilities dropping from 61.9% to 58.6%.
Experts attribute the rise in institutional births to a decrease in the country's maternal mortality rate, with the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) 2022–24 estimates placing the national Maternal Mortality Ratio at 87 per lakh (100,000) live births.
The NFHS-6 findings also highlight improvements in antenatal care services, with first-trimester antenatal registration increasing from 70% to 76.2% and the proportion of mothers receiving 4 or more antenatal care visits rising from 58.5% to 65.2%.
However, the survey also reveals a concerning trend of increasing lifestyle-related diseases, with blood sugar levels among adults aged 15 years and above rising from 6.3% to 9.1% in the very high category.
