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GOVERNMENTOFINDIA
MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 2132
TO BE ANSWERED ON 31STJULY2026
RISING RATESOFCAESAREAN DELIVERIES
2132 DR. BACHHAVSHOBHADINESH:
MS.PRANITI SUSHILKUMAR SHINDE:
ADVGOWAALKAGADAPADAVI:
SHRIVISHALDADAPRAKASHBAPU PATIL:
Will the MINISTER OFHEALTHAND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleased tostate:
(a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the consistently high and rising rates of
caesarean section deliveries in private healthcare institutions, significantly exceeding the
benchmarkrecommended by the WorldHealthOrganisation,if so, the detailsthereof;
(b) the details of the data on caesarean and normal deliveries reported over the last five years
with specific reference inthe country,State/UT-wise, particularly inMaharashtra;
(c) whether the Government has undertaken any assessment of non-clinical factors
contributing to this trend including institutional practices, financial incentives, medico-legal
considerationsandsocio-cultural preferencesinfluencingelectivecaesarean procedures;
(d) if so, the detailsthereof; and
(e) the details of the regulatory, monitoring and corrective measures instituted to discourage
medically unnecessary caesarean deliveries and safeguard maternal and neonatal health
outcomesinthisregard?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY
WELFARE
(SMT. ANUPRIYAPATEL)
(a) & (b) The rate of caesarean section deliveries in private healthcare institutions and the
details of caesarian section and total deliveries reported over the last five years, State/UT-
wise, includingMaharashtra, are provided at the linkgivenbelow:
https://www.nfhsiips.in/nfhsuser/assets/National%20Family%20Health%20Survey%20(NFH
S-6)%202023-2024%20Fact%20Sheets.pdf
(c)and(d) As perthe report of Population Research Centre (PRC)-JSSInstitute of Economic
Research Dharwad, Karnataka, under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW),
Government of India, a study conducted on “Understanding the Context of Caesarean
Delivery from the Providers’ andReceivers’ Perspectives’’, mentionsthe main reasons behind
the increase rate of C-section Deliveriesinthe countryas; Clinical Decision-Making by Doctor: Clinical indications, such as maternal age,
multiple pregnancies, fetal distress, previous C-sections, prolonged labour, placenta
previa, as well as maternal complications have a greater likelihood of caesarean
delivery.
Patient/Community Preferences: Thesehave decision-makingroleinthematter.
(e) Under the National Health Mission (NHM), various measures/initiatives have been taken
todiscourage unnecessary caesarean deliveriesacross allStates/UTs. The keymeasures are:
CGHS empaneled hospitals are required toprominently display information regarding
the ratioof deliveries byCaesarean section vis-à-visnormal deliveries.
Data Reportingandmonitoring strengthened at healthcare facilities.
Under National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS), a dedicated C-section audit
component is embedded in the assessment checklist for Maternity OTs for all
Government Hospitals.
Various training programs, including Daksh, Dakshta, Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA)
and Nurse Practitioner Midwifery (NPM) instituted to ensure the availability of well-
trainedhumanresource.
To improve the maternal and neonatal health outcomes, the Government of India has
takenfollowing initiatives underNHM:
Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) isa demand promotion andconditional cash transfer
scheme for promotinginstitutional delivery.
Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) under which every pregnant woman
andsick infant isentitled tofree delivery, includingcaesareansection, inpublic health
institutions along with provision of free transport, diagnostics, medicines,blood,other
consumables& diet.
Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) provides pregnant
women a fixed day, free of cost assured and quality antenatal check up by a
Specialist/Medical Officeronthe 9thdayof everymonth.
ExtendedPMSMA(e-PMSMA) strategy was launched for individual tracking of
high-risk pregnantwomen till a safe delivery.
LaQshya improves the quality of care in labour room and maternity operation
theatres to ensure that pregnant women receive respectful and quality care during
deliveryandimmediate post-partum.
Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) aims to provide assured, dignified,
respectful and quality healthcare at no cost and zero tolerance for denial of services
for every woman andnewborn visiting the public health facilityto endall preventable
maternalandnewborn deaths.
OptimizingPostnatal Care aims tostrengthen the quality of postnatal care by laying
emphasis on detection of danger signs in mothers andincentivizing Accredited Social
HealthActivists (ASHAs) for prompt detection,referral & treatment of such high-risk
postpartum mothers. Monthly Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day is an outreach activity at
Anganwadi centers for provision of maternal and childcare including nutrition in
convergence with the IntegratedChild DevelopmentScheme (ICDS).
Outreach camps are provisioned to improve the reach of health care services,
especially in tribal and hard-to-reach areas. This platform is used to increase
awareness for Maternal andChild health services andcommunitymobilizationaswell
astotrackhigh-risk pregnancies.
Capacity Building of staff in Skilled Birth Attendance (SBA), Daksh, Dakshata
along with BEmONC, CEmONC and LSAS to provide comprehensive quality care
during deliveryat a health facility.
Strengthening of infrastructure, includingfunctionalization of First Referral Units
(FRUs), setting up of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Wings, operationalization
of Obstetric High Dependency Units & Intensive Care Units (Obst. HDU & ICU),
establishment of Birth WaitingHomes (BWHs) in difficult terrain, remote and tribal
areastoimprove accesstohealthcare facilitiesandpromote institutional delivery.
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