India increases focus on mother and childcare

Globally, the baby care product market is estimated to be around US$ 87.2B in 2017 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.39% to reach US$ 108B by 2024. With the largest population share and highest population growth rate, Asia is expected to be the largest contributor. The Indian mother and childcare market was valued at US$ 2.3B in 2018 and is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 15% in the near future.

With the increased focus on mother and childcare, policymakers and other stakeholders are increasingly improving access to quality maternal health services in India as well. WHO has commended India for its ground-breaking progress in reducing the maternal mortality ratio – MMR by 77%, from 556 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 130 per 100,000 live births in 2016. India’s present MMR is below the Millennium Development Goal – MDG target and puts the country on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal – SDG target of an MMR below 70 by 2030. The growing baby population is also leading to a higher demand for baby products in the country. India has a high birth rate of 19.3 births per 1,000 in a year.

Since 2005, coverage of essential maternal health services has doubled, while the proportion of institutional deliveries in public facilities has almost tripled, from 18% in 2005 to 52% in 2016 including private facilities. Women are more literate than ever, with 68% now able to read and write. They are entering into marriage at an older age, with now just 27% wedded before the age of 18.

The Government of India (GoI) has also announced and implemented new schemes and programs to improve the Healthcare of both mother and child. A few of the major schemes include:

• Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram – JSSK, which has facilitated the shift of births from homes to health facilities. Overall 75% of rural births are now supervised, as compared to 89% of urban deliveries
• Ambulance services like the Janani Express and 1,098 services have started to address the challenges of transportation and reaching health facilities on time.
• To address quality of care issues, quality protocols are being developed for the labor room, antenatal – ANC and prenatal care – PNC by the Government and there is an attempt to standardize
• The Chiranjeevi Yojana in Gujarat and the Thayi Bhagya Yojana in Karnataka, aims at improving maternal health, especially among women living below the poverty line
• Facility-based new-born care services at health facilities have been emphasized. Setting up facilities for the care of sick newborns such as Special Newborn Care Units, New Born Stabilization Units and New Born Baby Corners at different levels is a thrust area under National Health Mission
• Facility Based Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness is to empower the health personnel with the skills to manage newborn and childhood illness at the community level as well as at the facility. It focuses on providing appropriate skills for the management of causes of neonatal and childhood mortality such as asphyxia, sepsis, low birth weight, and pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, meningitis, and severe malnutrition in children. This training of 11 days is being imparted to medical officers, staff nurses and ANMs at CHC, FRUs and 24×7 PHCs where deliveries are taking place
• Navjat Shishu Suraksha Karyakram is a 2-day training program for health personnel in basic newborn care and resuscitation, which has been launched to address care at birth issues i.e. prevention of hypothermia, infection, early initiation of breastfeeding and basic newborn resuscitation

Driven by the Government’s push and unmet need of Indian parents, the Healthcare sector has witnessed the rise of specialty care delivery models focused on mother and childcare. The market is estimated to be more than INR 15,000 crore and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15% over the next few years. Many leading healthcare providers have ventured into this market, while the last few years have seen the emergence of standalone dedicated specialty care facilities for mothers and childcare.

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Authored by (at the time of writing):

Aryaman Tandon, Leader, Healthcare Practice

Dr. Anuj Gupta, Member, Healthcare Practice

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