Bhatia, Jagdish C.. ” Levels and Causes of Maternal Mortality in Southern India.” Studies in Family Planning. 24. 5. (1993): 310-318

The purpose of this article is to study maternal mortality both in the home and the hospital. The study combines health- facility records, field surveys, and case control studies to get a more accurate statistic. In counties like India many deaths are not in a hospital therefore you have to go beyond just hospital statistics. This study observed that there were 7.98 maternal deaths per 1,000 live births and approximately half were in the home or on the way to the hospital. The analysis of this study reveals that many of the field survey and case- control studies could have been prevented.

This article was beneficial in understanding that mothers in Southern India in rural communities are more likely to die within their home because the lack of nearby hospitals. In a table correlating age with deaths in rural and urban communities the overall death rate is higher in rural communities. This makes me wonder how common it is to self treat in the home in rural communities verses urban. Is it more likely for women to self treat or men? Equal? At what point of injury or pain do rural community individuals go to the hospital?