Mumbai: India’s most populous city, recorded a 20 percent drop in live births in 2020 compared to the previous year. Experts are blaming the situation due to the Coronavirus pandemic as the reason for this decline. The special thing is that during the Corona epidemic, Maharashtra was the most affected state in the country. At the same time, in the second wave, the figures of corona infection in Mumbai increased rapidly.
According to the Indian Express report, the public health officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) count several possible reasons for this decline. He said that due to future security during the pandemic, conversion of public hospitals into Covid-19 centers, many people may have postponed the child’s plan. At the same time, the evacuation of a large number of people from Mumbai is also a major reason for the decrease in the number of live births in the city.
Statistics show that the city with an estimated population of 20 million has seen an average of 1.5 lakh live births every year since 2016. According to data obtained from BMC, there has been a decline in live births in the city since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. In 2019, 1 lakh 52 thousand 952 births took place in Mumbai. In 2020, this figure has come down to 1 lakh 20 thousand 188. In 2021, by November 30, the figures came down by one-third to 1 lakh 1 thousand 308 as compared to 2019.
According to Census 2011, about 40 percent of the city’s population lives in densely populated slums. When the epidemic started, Worli Koliwada in G Southward, Dharavi in G Northward were included in the areas that made Covid hotspots. There were some places in these, where most of the migrants lived. Lakhs of migrants, including pregnant women, left the city after the first lockdown. Officials of the civic body said that this could also be the reason for the decrease in live births.
According to the report, Local Health Volunteers say that some women decided to give birth at home to protect themselves from the virus, due to which some live births may not be recorded. Especially these conditions were created in slums. BMC data shows that a total of 353 home deliveries were registered in 2019, which came down to 256 in 2020. But in 2021, the number of home deliveries till 30 November was 400. There has also been a 21 percent reduction in death births or stillbirths in the city due to low births. In 2019, 1373 stillbirths were recorded, which came down to 1091 next year and by November 2021 The figure came down to about 900.
