Lancet Study Draws Attention To Rising C-Section Deliveries, Calls For Regulation In Private Healthcare

Seeing a rise in caesarean deliveries in India -- from 8.5 per cent in 2005 to 21.5 per cent in 2021 -- which is well above WHO-recommended levels, researchers are calling for policy measures, including more regulation in private healthcare, in an analysis published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia journal.

- Press Trust Of India

Delivering a baby via a caesarean section (C-section) involves making a surgical cut in the mother's abdomen and uterus.

The researchers, including those from the Institute of Public Health Bengaluru and Christian Medical College in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, said that while a medically indicated C-section is vital to preventing maternal and newborn mortality, rates of caesarean deliveries exceeding 10 per cent in the population are not linked with reduced mortality -- as noted by the World Health Organization.

An unjustified caesarean delivery is related to longer hospital stays and higher healthcare costs, with babies born through the procedure known to be at an increased risk of asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes and allergies, among other health problems.