This NFHS-6 data is actually good news,but also little reminder that India’s health system is still work in progress only . On May 29,Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) unveiled National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-6,and numbers around mothers and children do look much better than before.
Survey was conducted from 2023 to 2024 with International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Mumbai . And scale is not small ah,around 6.79 lakh households were covered across 715 districts . So this is not some tiny sample being passed around casually.
What stands out first is maternal healthcare . NFHS-6 says 95.9% of pregnant women received antenatal care (ANC),which is genuinely big number . First-trimester ANC visits also went up from 70% to 76.2%,meaning more women are getting checked earlier during pregnancy .
And that matters,because early care can change lot of things before complications become serious . Mothers attending at least four ANC visits rose from 58.5% to 65.2%,so continuity of care is improving too . Not perfect,but direction is clearly better.
Few numbers that caught attention:
- Institutional deliveries increased to 90.6% from 88.6%.
- Mothers consuming iron folic acid supplements for over 100 days during pregnancy increased from 44.1% to 54.9%.
- 95.6% of children under six months were breastfed .
Child nutrition side also has some hopeful movement . Stunting among children under five decreased from 35.5% to 29.3%,which is not small change when we talk about millions of children . Also,children aged under three years who were breastfed within one hour of birth increased from 41.8% to 50.1%.
Honestly,this part feels important because breastfeeding within one hour is one of those simple things which can make big difference,but awareness and hospital support both are needed . Public health campaigns seem to be reaching more families now,at least according to these numbers .
Government schemes like Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY 2.0) are being linked with this improvement . Safer childbirth,better access to services,more focus on maternal nutrition… all these things together seem to be pushing numbers upward .
But at same time,percentages never tell full story of what happens inside village health centre,small clinic,anganwadi,or one nervous family waiting outside labour room . NFHS-6 shows progress,yes,but now real question is whether this improvement reaches every mother and every child equally…
