BHUBANESWAR: Amid serious concerns over rising cesarean section (C-section) deliveries in the state, tribal-dominated districts continue to show remarkable hesitation towards surgical childbirth.
According to the data placed in the Assembly, the number of C-section deliveries in tribal districts like Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada, Kandhamal, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Deogarh, Boudh and Gajapati is vastly lower than the others.
Malkangiri has recorded just 10 C-section deliveries in 2023-24 policy year (based on health assurance renewal calendar) in private hospitals empanelled under the scheme, 11 in 2022-23, and nine so far in 2024-25.
The number was 83 each in last two financial years and 42 this year for Gajapati district and 200, 124 and 129 for Koraput district. In another tribal district Kandhamal, 104 C-section deliveries were reported in private health settings in 2022-23, 163 in 2023-24 and 115 in 2024-25 policy year and Jharsuguda has recorded 114, 224 and 108 surgical deliveries, respectively.
In fact, the number of normal deliveries in Odisha dropped from 69.46 per cent in 2022-23 to 66.91 per cent in 2023-24, while the C-section deliveries went up from 30.53 per cent to 33.08 per cent during the period.
The Health department statistics revealed, 6,00,740 institutional deliveries were registered in 2022-23 and 5,91,185 in 2023-24 while the share of C-section deliveries was 1,83,443 and 1,95,578 respectively. With 77.46 per cent in 2022-23 and 81 per cent in 2023-24, the surgical childbirth witnessed an exponential rise in private hospitals as against the public health facilities, which reported 17.69 per cent and 18.17 per cent C-section deliveries in the last two fiscal years.
Senior gynaecologist and former director of health services Dr Seba Mohapatra said this cautious approach may be due to their deep-rooted cultural beliefs that natural childbirth ensures better maternal and child health in the long run. “Traditional childbirth practices, mothers’ ability to bear labour pain and strong community support for home deliveries contribute to this trend,” she said.
“The data also presents a clear picture on the availability of private hospitals in the tribal regions. The concentration of private clinics is more in urban and coastal districts. The districts reporting less C-section cases might have visited hospitals in nearby districts or states,” said head of the gynaecology department at AIIMS Dr Soubhagya Jena.
Director of Family Welfare Dr Sanjukta Sahoo, however, expressed concerns over rising surgical deliveries in private hospitals. “We have trained health workers at the village level who are successfully helping women for normal deliveries. People in tribal districts are usually dependent on public health facilities, which are doing well in institutional deliveries, as private hospitals are scarce there,” she added.
Odisha had topped the growth of C-section deliveries in the country as the state recorded the highest 10 per cent rise in the surgical child births conducted at private hospitals in 2020-21 and 2021-22 prompting the government to conduct an audit of such deliveries.
Against the tide
Normal deliveries dropped from 69.46% in 2022-23 to 66.91% in 2023-24
C-section deliveries went up from 30.53 pc to 33.08 pc during the period
6,00,740 institutional deliveries in 2022-23 and 5,91,185 in 2023-24
1,83,443 C-section deliveries in 2022-23 and 1,95,578 in 2023-24
Malkangiri recorded just 10 C-section deliveries in 2023-24 and 11 in 2022-23
Gajapati 83 each in both years; Koraput 200 and 124 respectively