MANGALURU: A shortage of government gynecologists, paired with the concentration of medical colleges in Mangaluru, has made Dakshina Kannada one of the most heavily dependent districts on private maternity care in the country.
According to the state health department data for 2025-26, nearly 80 per cent of the district's 28,278 institutional deliveries took place in private hospitals, compared to the national average of 41.4 per cent.
Of the total institutional deliveries, 22,410 were recorded in private hospitals, accounting for 79.2 per cent of all births. The trend is in stark contrast to the state pattern, where nearly 65.5 per cent of deliveries take place in government health institutions. In rural Karnataka, the figure rises to around 70 per cent.
The district's reliance on private hospitals is evident across taluks. In Bantwal, only 28 of 493 institutional deliveries took place in government facilities, accounting for just 5.7 per cent. In Puttur, government hospitals handled 656 of 4,004 deliveries (16.4 per cent), while in Mangaluru taluk the figure stood at 4,355 of 21,491 births (20.3 per cent). Belthangady recorded 281 government-hospital deliveries out of 1,042 births (27 per cent). Sullia was the only taluk where the public sector's share exceeded the national average, with 548 of 1,248 deliveries occurring in government institutions (43.9 per cent).
Another striking aspect is the concentration of births in Mangaluru taluk. Of the district's 28,278 institutional deliveries, 21,491 — or about 76 per cent — took place in Mangaluru alone, underlining its role as the district's maternity care hub.
District Health Officer Dr HR Thimmaiah acknowledged the shortage of gynaecologists in government hospitals, but said Dakshina Kannada's unique healthcare ecosystem, comprising eight medical colleges — seven of them located in Mangaluru — has also contributed to the district's heavy reliance on private maternity care.
"Medical college hospitals such as Yenepoya, Kanachur, Srinivas and SDM offer free delivery services under different schemes. There is also better follow-up and specialist care available," he said.
Pointing out to a shortage of gynaecologists in government hospitals, Thimmaiah said Puttur Taluk Hospital which once handled over 100 deliveries a month, saw numbers drop sharply after its gynaecologist left service. The hospital has been without a full-time gynaecologist for six to seven months now, while Sullia and Belthangady faced similar shortages until recently. Bantwal has not had a government gynaecologist for nearly five years, though one is expected to join soon.
"Families in Dakshina Kannada increasingly prefer specialist-led care even for normal deliveries. As a result, no deliveries take place in PHCs here," he added.
