A recent analysis in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia, found that one in five deliveries in India are now by Caesarean section. From 2005, when the rate of C-section was 8.5%, it has risen to 21.5% as of 2021, the analysis said. International bodies such as the World Health Organization discourage high rates of C-section, as they are associated with longer hospital stays and higher healthcare costs, burdening both patients’ families and the healthcare system.

So what is driving the rates up in India despite the fact that C-sections, in general, cost more? Is patient preference a factor? Is this an area that could do with guidelines or regulations?

Guest: Dr A. Jaishree Gajaraj, senior obstetrician and gynaecologist based in Chennai

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Jude Francis Weston

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