BENGALURU: Rural districts of Karnataka have recorded an increased number of women undergoing C-section deliveries since 2019. Experts attribute it to a lack of facilities in the secondary healthcare system.
The Karnataka Health Profile 2019-2021 showed a higher frequency of Caesarean deliveries in districts like Kolar, Chitradurga, Bengaluru Rural, Shivamogga, Udupi, Mandya, Hassan and Davangere. Statistics show that in Tumakuru, 52.1 per cent of babies were delivered by C-section, which is the highest in Karnataka. Bengaluru Rural clocked 43.16 per cent, which is 13.16 per cent higher than Bengaluru Urban. Institutional deliveries also saw a rise, post a dip in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.
Dr Rajkumar N, state deputy director, maternal health, said Karnataka has an average C-section rate of 32 per cent (public and private) and is better placed when compared to other South Indian states. The major reason for a high percentage of C-sections is a low degree of fear about the surgery, and also brings down chances of infant and mother dying, compared to normal deliveries.
According to the National Family Health Survey 5, Telangana recorded 60.7 per cent C-section deliveries, while Kerala and Andhra Pradesh recorded 42.4 per cent. The high C-section rate can be attributed to high referrals in peripheral areas, in certain cases when specialists are not available at the taluk level, other doctors take up Caesarean deliveries, Dr Rajkumar said. If patients are shifted to private hospitals when already in labour, they end up undergoing a C-section to reduce cases of mortality.
Dr Sylvia Karpagam, a public health doctor and researcher from Bengaluru, highlighted the gaps in the secondary healthcare system. The unavailability of specialists or basic facilities in Public Health Centres in rural areas cause people to travel long distances.
Dr Sylvia explained that people prefer to access doctors in nearby areas, but when they are not available and patients have to travel long distances, families prefer C-section to get done with the process quickly. She also raised concern over the lack of knowledge about undergoing C-section deliveries, beside side-effects and complications that are not taken into consideration.