August 2016 · Volume 5 · Issue 8 Page 2607 International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology Parashar A et al. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2016 Aug;5(8):2607-2611 www.ijrcog.org pISSN 2320-1770 | eISSN 2320-1789 Research Article Status of maternal care and immunisation services in a hilly state of north India: a cross sectional study Anupam Parashar*, Salig Ram Mazta, Dineshwar Singh Dhadwal, Anita Thakur, Harshvardhan Singh, Kamlesh Sharma, Kanica Kaushal, Sudhir Singh INTRODUCTION Maternal health refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. While motherhood is often a positive and fulfilling experience, for too many women it is associated with suffering, ill- health and even death. 1 Antenatal care is one of the four most important pillars of safe motherhood along with family planning, safe delivery and essential obstetric care. 2 Utilisation of health services is a complex behavioural phenomenon. In developing countries, health seeking behaviours and health care services utilisation patterns have been studied and the determinants have been classified in physical, socio-economic, cultural and political contexts. Maternal mortality ratio in India is 167/100,000 live births despite the existence of National program for improving the maternal and child health. 3 Most of the maternal deaths can be prevented if women have access Department of Community Medicine, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh-171001, India Received: 29 May 2016 Accepted: 01 July 2016 *Correspondence: Dr. Anupam Parashar, E-mail: anupamvikrant@yahoo.co.in Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Maternal health refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. While motherhood is often a positive and fulfilling experience, for too many women it is associated with suffering, ill-health and even death. The objective of this study was to assess the utilisation of maternal health care services and coverage of maternal Tetanus immunisation in six districts of Himachal Pradesh, India. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using the WHO cluster sampling method during the period October 2015 to January 2016 among children of 0-11 month age covering 1,260 children in total. Results: A total of 21,097 households were surveyed in 180 clusters. Card availability was 81.1% and 95.9% recalled receiving the antenatal card and tetanus immunisation during their respective pregnancies. Out of the total of 1,260 infants surveyed, 1,255 (99.6%) were found to be fully protected against neonatal tetanus and only 5 (0.39%) were found not to be fully protected. 1,241 (98.5%) of the mothers had undergone full Antenatal check-ups (ANC) during their pregnancy. 210 (100%) had at least one ANC. All had undergone the ANC at the nearest government health facility. 1055 (83.7%) deliveries were institutional deliveries and 201 (16%) were home deliveries. Overall, deliveries conducted by skilled personnel stood at 91.3%. Conclusions: Overall, the utilisation of maternal health services and immunisation against maternal and neonatal Tetanus are excellent in the state. The coverage targets for key RMNCH and A, an interventions have been well achieved in the state. Further, sustained efforts with Supportive Supervision are required to achieve 100% universal coverage of immunisation and full utilisation of maternal health care services. Keywords: Maternal care, Tetanus immunisation, Institutional deliveries DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20162630