C-section rates reveal need for smarter healthcare policy
By IndiaSpend
July 17, 2017
In 2011-12, more than 50% of deliveries in nine of 10 Telangana districts were caesarean section deliveries (C-sections), according to an analysis of district-level health data. In comparison, none of the districts in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar had C-section rates of more than 25%.
C-section is a specialised procedure that is needed to deal with complicated delivery cases. The healthy rates of C-section should range from 10% to 15%, according to this April 2015 World Health Organization estimate, while a December 2015 study led by Ariadne Labs, a joint center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, suggested that optimal C-section rate could be as high as 19%. The procedure brings risk of infection and can cause complications in future pregnancies, so it should be used only when medically necessary.
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