Infant Mortality Rate

Kerala reports comparatively low IMR (14 per 1000 live births in 2001) which is strikingly lower than the all India rate. Moreover, female infant mortality is lower than male infant mortality in rural as well as urban areas. Since 1991, Under-Five mortality has also significantly declined and it is the lowest in the country.

The achievements of Kerala in the field of mortality can safely be attributed to widespread health care facilities, state-supported nutrition programme for pregnant and new mothers and greater awareness regarding the importance of beast feeding. The sharp decline in the maternal mortality rate was due to the fact that over 90 percent of the deliveries taking place in the state are under institutional care which is much higher than the national level (less than 60 percent only): ie, for every 3000 deliveries reported maternal morality is below one. The continuous target of the government and the expansion of immunization into the whole of Kerala in the 1980s must have played an important role in bringing down infant mortality. It may also be noted that, in Kerala, maternal and child health programs were initiated much earlier than the WHO-sponsored Universal Immunization Program that was launched in 1985 at the all-India level.

The exceptionally high level of female literacy and the low gender gap in literacy in Kerala are noteworthy, as these generally lead to lower infant mortality rate (IMR) and fertility.