Kurnool: Motherhood is cherished, and married women eagerly wait for the birth of their offspring. After conception, there is an eight-month period of waiting for natural childbirth. However, in several cases, caesarean deliveries are performed or preferred at hospitals.
A higher incidence of such cases is reported from private hospitals compared to government health-care centres. This raised suspicion that the aim of private hospitals is to raise the bills and extract more money from such patients.
The state government has initiated a special drive to curb unnecessary caesareans. Officials are conducting audit at hospitals with high rates of caesarean sections and taking action against them.
Normal delivery allows a woman to recover swiftly, resuming work within days and in having healthier babies. Caesarean section requires a woman to rest for about two weeks and depend on others for assistance.
District medical and health department officials are investigating the reasons behind caesareans at various hospitals.
Government hospitals in Kurnool and Adoni have reported higher rates of caesarean deliveries. While government hospitals have seen a decrease in caesarean rates due to an awareness campaign undertaken by the state government.
Doctors, however, note that caesarean operations are performed also to meet specific timing for births as per requests linked to horoscopes from parents.
The cost of caesarean sections in private hospitals ranges from Rs.60,000 to Rs.90,000. In the 2022-23 fiscal, there were over 61,000 deliveries, 27,000 of them being caesareans. This year, the number has dropped to around 39,000 total deliveries, with caesareans constituting about 10,000 of these.
In government hospitals, there were 19,400 normal and 7,000 caesarean deliveries last year, compared to around 7,000 normal and 4,200 caesarean deliveries this year. Private hospitals account for approximately 50 per cent of all deliveries.
Last year, out of the total 27,000 caesarean deliveries, a significant portion, amounting to 19,900, were conducted in private hospitals. This year, there have been 10,000 caesarean deliveries, with 5,900 of these happening in private hospitals.
District medical and health officer Dr B Ramagiddaiah said they carry out audits in hospitals that report a higher number of caesarean cases. These audits involved a study of the detailed reports from hospitals every quarter to understand the reasons behind the increase in the number of caesarean procedures. Based on these findings, they make recommendations to the government for appropriate action against errant hospitals/ doctors, he added.
