A 13-year-old girl in Koppal who was married off at the age of 12 and got pregnant when she was 13, died even before she could get a grasp on life. While her body couldn't bear the burden of pregnancy, inadequate maternal care facilities in the area led to her untimely death. At 144 deaths per 1,00,000 live births, Karnataka's overall performance in terms of the average Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) may be better than many other states, but five districts in north Karnataka - Koppal, Ballari, Vijayapura, Raichur and Yadgir - have reported very high MMR (230 deaths per 1,00,000 live births). This is about 55% higher than the state average, shows a study conducted by the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Public Health and Centre for Disease Control.

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