Maternal health is a sensitive measure of a state’s socio-economic development and the effectiveness of its healthcare delivery system. This study evaluates the regional disparities in maternal health across the districts of West Bengal using data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4, 2015-16). A composite index was constructed by integrating eight critical indicators: early marriage, teenage pregnancy, unmet family planning needs, full antenatal care (ANC), postnatal care (PNC), low Body Mass Index (BMI), overweight/obesity, and anaemia prevalence and standardized using Z-scores to classify districts into four categories: very low, low, high, and very high concern. The analysis reveals significant spatial inequality, with highly urbanized districts like Kolkata and Haora showing superior outcomes, while rural and backward districts such as Maldah, Puruliya and South 24 Parganas suffer from high rates of anaemia, early marriage, and poor nutritional status. The findings underscore the need for district-specific interventions to address the persistent
Kanrar et al. (Sun,) studied this question.