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A Mumbai-based woman’s online petition against “abnormally high rate” of C-section deliveries in India has caught the attention of Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi.
The minister will meet petitioner Subarna Ghosh on Wednesday to discuss the issue . Subarna had posted her petition at the Change.org against “growing business” of C-section in India after her “long, painful, depressing recovery” from a caesarean delivery. Her petition has received support from more than 1.27 lakh netizens.
Sharing her ordeal, Subarna said doctors performed a surgery on her to delivery a baby though no “serious complications” was detected. “I wanted to have a natural birth but had to undergo a C-section as it was presented to be more scientific, modern and risk-free. I was misled, manipulated, confused and my choice was overridden,” she added.
Subarna demanded regulations to bring more transparency in functioning of hospitals, especially private hospitals, saying the right to “informed-refusal or consent” during childbirth is hardly an option for women in India “either due to lack of awareness or the high-handed attitude of doctors.”
“Her petition went viral and was brought to the notice of the WCD minister. The minister will meet her on Wednesday to look into the matter in more detail,” Durga Nandini, a spokesperson of the public petition website, said in a statement. The World Health Organisation suggested that C-section rate should be between 10% and 15% of the total deliveries in a country. However, a latest National Family Health Survey indicated that the overall C-section rate in some states in India was as high as 58% (Telangana) and 34.1% (Tamil Nadu).
“The fact that private hospitals have a much higher rate of C-sections than public hospitals has a direct correlation to the fact that surgical deliveries cost so much more than normal ones in these facilities,” Ghosh said in her petition. She demanded the Medical Council of India to make it mandatory for all doctors and hospitals to declare the percentage of caesarean deliveries.
The minister will meet petitioner Subarna Ghosh on Wednesday to discuss the issue . Subarna had posted her petition at the Change.org against “growing business” of C-section in India after her “long, painful, depressing recovery” from a caesarean delivery. Her petition has received support from more than 1.27 lakh netizens.
Sharing her ordeal, Subarna said doctors performed a surgery on her to delivery a baby though no “serious complications” was detected. “I wanted to have a natural birth but had to undergo a C-section as it was presented to be more scientific, modern and risk-free. I was misled, manipulated, confused and my choice was overridden,” she added.
Subarna demanded regulations to bring more transparency in functioning of hospitals, especially private hospitals, saying the right to “informed-refusal or consent” during childbirth is hardly an option for women in India “either due to lack of awareness or the high-handed attitude of doctors.”
“Her petition went viral and was brought to the notice of the WCD minister. The minister will meet her on Wednesday to look into the matter in more detail,” Durga Nandini, a spokesperson of the public petition website, said in a statement. The World Health Organisation suggested that C-section rate should be between 10% and 15% of the total deliveries in a country. However, a latest National Family Health Survey indicated that the overall C-section rate in some states in India was as high as 58% (Telangana) and 34.1% (Tamil Nadu).
“The fact that private hospitals have a much higher rate of C-sections than public hospitals has a direct correlation to the fact that surgical deliveries cost so much more than normal ones in these facilities,” Ghosh said in her petition. She demanded the Medical Council of India to make it mandatory for all doctors and hospitals to declare the percentage of caesarean deliveries.
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(Published 21 February 2017, 18:42 IST)
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