Patna,(BiharTimes): With a Crude Birth Rate (CBR) of 26.3 Bihar ranks at the top among the nine major states with regard to childbirths per 1,000.

Jharkhand has the best Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) at 38, while of Bihar it is 52. With 70 Uttar Pradesh has the worst IMR in the country.

According to preliminary figures of the Annual Health Survey (AHS) 2011-12, conducted in nine states of the country Uttarakhand with a CBR of 19.1 and Odisha with 19.8 are the best performers. The other surveyed states Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Assam have a lesser rate in comparison to Bihar. CBR points to the success of family welfare and planning measures. Thus the survey suggests that Bihar had not done well in this sector.

The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) denotes the number of children dying at less than one year of age per 1,000 live births during the reference period.

On the other hand the Gender Ratio at Birth of Bihar has increased to 923 from 919 during the baseline period of 2007-09.

Chhattisgarh has the best ratio at 951, while Uttarakhand is at the lowest rung with 866.

The Gender Ratio in the age group of 0-4 years in Bihar has been pegged at 925, while it is 972 in Chhattisgarh and 875 in Rajasthan. The overall Gender Ratio in Bihar is at 951 while it is the best in Odisha and Uttarakhand at 995. Rajasthan has the Gender Ratio of just 929.

The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) or the number of the death of expectant women per 1,00,000 live births in Bihar is 294.

It has improved from 305 during the baseline of 2007-09. But, Uttarakhand has the lowest MMR of 162 among the nine surveyed states. Assam has the worst at 347.