Why in news:

• A new study based on the data from the National Family and Health Survey has shown that there is a significant increase in the rate of caesarean births in India.

Details:

• The WHO recommends the rate of caesarean delivery to be 10-15%, the number was 17.2% for India during the period from Jan 2015 to Dec 2016.
• This is higher than the rate seen in rich countries such as the Netherlands and Finland.
• The report says that if this trend continues, India could soon have the largest number of C- section births in the world.

Causes of caesarean birth:

• Prevalence of maternal mortality and morbidity is higher after caesarean than after vaginal birth.
• Increased risk of uterine rupture, abnormal placentation, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, and preterm birth.
• Babies born by caesarean births would have less bacterial exposure, which in turn alters their immunity and gut microbiome diversity.
• Children tend to have increased chances of allergy, asthma, and childhood obesity.

 

Maternal mortality rate

• The maternal mortality ratio is a key performance indicator for efforts to improve the health and safety of mothers before, during, and after childbirth per country worldwide.
• it is the annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes)