Caesarean deliveries in private hospitals two times more than government facilities: Survey

New Delhi: Caesarean deliveries in private hospitals were two times more than those in government facilities across India, according to the National Family Health Survey.

The data of National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) covering 15 states and Union territories showed that the gap was too wide in several states.

In Urban Tripura, 87.1 per cent of the deliveries at private hospitals were through caesarean section as against 36.4 per cent in government facilities. Similarly, in Bihar only 5 percent of deliveries were done by C-section in government hospitals as against 37.1 per cent in private hospitals.

74.7 per cent per cent of deliveries at private hospitals in West Bengal were through caesarean section, while government facilities accounted for only 28.1 per cent.

In urban Andhra Pradesh, the figure was 60.9 per cent for private healthcare facilities and 31 per cent in government sector health institutions. In Telangana, 74.8 per cent of deliveries in private hospitals were through c-section as against 42.2 per cent in government facilities.

Caesarean deliveries, including those at government and private hospitals, have gone up sharply reaching as high as 63.2 per cent in Telangana, 45.8 per cent in Tripura, 36.6 per cent in West Bengal, 36.1 per cent in Tamil Nadu and 48.4 per cent in Andhra Pradesh.

According to the World Health Organisation guidelines, only 10-15 per cent of the births require surgical intervention in India. But gynaecologists say there are several complications in some pregnancies due to which doctors prefer caesarean section to normal vaginal deliveries.