A Review of the National Family Health Survey Data in Addressing India’s Maternal Health Situation

Objective: This study aims to understand the trend of research conducted on issues of maternal health in India considering data provided in five rounds of National Family Health Survey (NFHS). Methods: Systematic review of literature has been conducted using multi-stage search and review process adapted from Page et al.’s (2021) PRISMA. Initially 14,570 studies were identified and only 134 articles meeting selection criterion were considered in this study. Results: Approximately 32% studies have focused on regional and state variation of maternal health status; while 27% dealt with utilization of maternal healthcare services; and 19% the socio-economic determinants of maternal health. While few studies have discussed the place of delivery, antenatal care and post-natal care visits, only five studies focus on issues related to women’s autonomy, including their health-seeking behaviour, knowledge, attitude and practices related to maternal health. Conclusion: Non-communicable diseases and its role in maternal health still remains an unexplored domain of research on maternal health in India. Moreover, there exists geographical skewness in the number of studies conducted, focusing especially on few provinces while none on few others.