Private hospitals in India are recording a quantum jump in caesarian or C-section deliveries, triggering fears of commercial exploitation of the surgery that the World Health Organization recommends only for emergencies. Union health minister JP Nadda said in the Lok Sabha on Friday that during 2016-17 one in two babies were delivered through the C-section in private hospitals that has signed up with the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). New Delhi ranks fifth with 67.83% C-section deliveries. In the past decade, C-section deliveries in private hospitals spiraled from 27.7% in 2005-06 to 40.9% in 2015-16, the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 shows. Gynaecologists in private hospitals denied turning C-section into a business.

Source: Hindustan Times August 04, 2017 17:15 UTC