High rates of infant mortality and maternal mortality is the result of which factors?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → poverty and illiteracy
Option (1) poverty and illiteracy — Correct. High rates of infant and maternal mortality are an unambiguous indicator of backwardness and poverty. These rates fall as medical facilities and levels of education, awareness and prosperity increase, so poverty and a lack of education keep them high.
Option (2) poverty and development — Incorrect. Poverty fits, but development works the other way: development is accompanied by sharp falls in infant and maternal mortality.
Option (3) life expectancy and poverty — Incorrect. Life expectancy is the estimated number of years an average person is expected to survive. It is an outcome, not a cause: high infant and maternal deaths pull life expectancy down.
Option (4) literacy and development — Incorrect. Both lower these rates; rising education and development bring infant and maternal mortality down.
NCERT (2025-26): “2.1 Some Theories and Concepts in Demography … The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of babies before the age of one year per 1000 live births. Likewise, the maternal mortality rate is the number of women who die in childbirth per 1,00,000 live births. High rates of infant and maternal mortality are an unambiguous indicator of backwardness and poverty; development is accompanied by sharp falls in these rates as medical facilities and levels of education, awareness and prosperity increase.…” |