By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : May 21, 2026 3:22 pm
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) have found that sustained investments in emergency medical services (EMS) and maternal healthcare helped Tamil Nadu not only overcome severe disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic but also achieve significantly improved maternal and newborn health outcomes.
The study analysed eight years of ambulance registry data from Tamil Nadu’s 108 emergency response system covering the period from 2017 to 2024.
Spanning 42 districts and a population of more than 84 million, the research represents one of the largest real-world analyses of maternal healthcare and emergency response systems conducted in India.
The findings have been published in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth and highlight how strategic public investments in ambulance infrastructure, referral systems, and maternal health programmes strengthened healthcare resilience during and after the pandemic.
The research was led by Prof. P. Kandaswamy, Retired IPS Officer and Professor of Practice in the Departments of Management Studies and Data Science and AI at IIT Madras, along with Ashwin Prakash of Moody’s Analytics Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru.
Prof. P. Kandaswamy said, “During the pandemic, particularly in Wave-2, Tamil Nadu witnessed severe disruptions in maternal healthcare access. Pregnant women faced challenges in reaching hospitals, home deliveries surged, and maternal mortality rose sharply by 98.5 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“Against this backdrop, the research sought to understand whether these disruptions had long-term adverse effects or if the system recovered. The findings present a strong and encouraging counter-narrative,” added Prof. P. Kandaswamy.
Co-author Ashwin Prakash said, “More importantly, maternal and newborn health indicators showed substantial improvement in the post-pandemic resilient phase compared to pre-pandemic baselines. Maternal mortality declined by 19 per cent to 37 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is far below India’s national average.”
“Home deliveries reduced by over 36 per cent, miscarriages dropped by 28 per cent and complicated vaginal births declined by over 19 per cent. Neonatal and infant mortality also saw reductions of 17 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively,” added Prakash.