Telangana has shown an alarming increase in Caesarean section (C-section) deliveries.

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on general and social sector for the year ended March 2017, which was tabled in the State Assembly on Thursday said: “The Telangana State, at 45 per cent, had a very high C-section rate in the country.”

In order to manage complications developing during childbirth, a surgical incision called C-section is done as an emergency procedure.

WHO guideline

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), C-sections are effective in saving maternal and infant lives but it should be done only when required for medically indicated reasons. The ideal rate for C-sections, says WHO, should be between 10 and 15 per cent.

The figures in Telangana are nowhere near the recommended range. The audit noticed that C-section deliveries increased from 33 per cent in 2013-14 to 45 per cent during 2016-17. This indicated the ‘ineffective’ antenatal care provided in the State, it added.

It was observed that such deliveries at private institutions were on the higher side (67 per cent) compared with those at public health family centres (33 per cent).

Due to shortage of gynaecologists, anaesthetists and general surgeon in public health facilities, people are forced to go to private health facilities for C-Section deliveries, the report observed.

Govt admission

The State government, during the exit conference held in January 2018, admitted that such deliveries were on the higher side in private institutions. It also stated that special training would be given to medical personnel to conduct normal deliveries.

“The State failed to put in place effective mechanism to discourage higher incidence of C-section deliveries in private institutions,’’ the report said.

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