Publication

Abstract :

Objective: To examine the socio-demographic variations in overwhelming existence of C-section deliveries in south India, with a comparison to rest of India.

Methods: This study analyses data collected from 51,136 mothers under National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3 (2005-06) and 2,52,183 mothers under NFHS-4 (2015-16), those who have given births during last five years preceding the survey.

Main outcome measures: Descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis with Chi-squared tests and binary logistic regression models with 95% confidence intervals are used.

Results: In south India at least one out of four women deliver through C-section and there was a notable rise in caesarean deliveries in public facilities as well as among tribal population. In aggregate, number of states exceeding 15% prevalence rate of C-section deliveries doubled to sixteen, while nineteen states registered more than 100% rise. Rural-urban difference is slim in south India, while likelihood for C-section deliveries for richest women as compared to poorest has gone down from 2.76 to 1.88 in south India and 7.75 to 4.58 in other regions during 2005-06 to 2015-16. The odds ratio for C-section is higher in private hospitals (3.26) of southern states with reference to public institutions, while the odds are 3.90 times higher for private facilities in other states. In south India, percentage of C-section deliveries were actually lower among those who reported about pregnancy complications.

Conclusions: Despite, several maternal and child health related programs being launched in India, their impact on improving the C-section scenario has remained microscopic, or they have continued to contribute towards a rising prevalence of C-section, especially in south India.