HYDERABAD: According to the latest National Family Health Survey- 5 (NFHS) data there has been an increase of nearly a 3 per cent in C-Section deliveries in Telangana. While in 2016, C-sections consisted 57.7 per cent of all deliveries, now, it has increased to 60.7 per cent.
The rise is extremely high in certain districts such as Karimnagar- 82.4 per cent, Jangaon 79.1 per cent, Ranjanna-Siriclla- 77.2 per cent, and Mahbubabad- 74 per cent. In fact, a glance at data shows that in districts such as Jangaon, the C-sections in government sector are over 70 per cent.
Barring two districts- Adilabad and Asifabad, nearly all districts have seen above 50 per cent C-sections, which is a cause of worry. As per WHO standards, the ideal number of C-section deliveries must be 10-15 per cent, however, the numbers in Telangana are five times the ideal figures.Experts note that this could possibly be due to several reasons including the case of a "Failure of Success".
"Telangana has been working to improve institutional deliveries which has given very good results, so as a result, there may be a small increase in C-section deliveries as well," noted Dr BR Shamanna, Professor, School of Medical Sciences, University of Hyderabad. He headed a study for UNICEF to study the issue.
However, he added that there could be a demand side issue as well which can’t be ignored. "In several districts C-Section deliveries are seen as a marker of safety by the family and the pregnant woman," he added.Universally, the solution to resolve this, experts note is by having dedicated campaigns to induce a behavioural change.
"Telangana is already on the right track by bringing in a scheme which includes midwives in the public health set up. We already have 30 such trained midwives, who will further train others, which would increase the scope for normal deliveries. A strong campaign for behavioural change must be spearheaded to encourage term pregnancies," he added.