Docs criticise Maneka Gandhi’s statement on C-section deliveries
The medical fraternity in Patiala has come out to strongly criticised union minister of women and child development, Maneka Gandhi, for her recent statement wherein allegedly she said that C-section deliveries are being conducted as a ‘racket’.
The medical fraternity in Patiala has come out to strongly criticised union minister of women and child development, Maneka Gandhi, for her recent statement wherein allegedly she said that C-section deliveries are being conducted as a ‘racket’.

Medical practitioners say that such statements, coming from a union minister, will develope mistrust between the patients and doctors. This will result in refusal of surgery even when it is required, thus posing threat to the lives of the mother and the newborn, they add.
In her recent letter to union health minister, Maneka had allegedly suggested to make it mandatory for hospitals to publicly display the number of C-section deliveries and normal deliveries carried out.
Dr Geetanjali Arora, a city-based gynaecologist, said the medical profession is based on trust, and this development has tried to breach its foundation.
“There is no denying the fact that some doctors are involved in commercialisation. A majority of us don’t go for C-section deliveries if it is not needed. We give the same advice to our patients. However, this doesn’t mean that it should not be allowed in complex cases too. The government’s move will eventually harm professionals like us and create more complications in deliveries,” she said.
She added that if the minister is concerned about excessive commercialisation, she should initiate a larger debate on ways to control the malpractices. The Centre has the data of C-sections deliveries conducted in the country.
Slamming the minister, president of Punjab state chapter of Indian Medical Association, Dr Rajender Sharma, said the rates of C-section deliveries will always be higher in secondary and tertiary care hospitals as they see many high-risk pregnancy referral cases. “Does this mean they are indulged in commercialisation and are trying to bring down the mortality rate,” he asked.
Dr Amandeep Aggarwal of Sangrur said they will have to approach courts if the Centre tries to impose any unwarranted decision without taking the medical fraternity into confidence. “This is not an appropriate way to deal with the malpractices in the medical industry,” he said.
He added that doctors are accountable to the Medical Council of India and state medical councils. It is the job of the councils to conduct suo moto inspections to detect unethical acts.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) prescribe that the percentage of C-section deliveries in any country should be between 10-15% of the total deliveries.
However, C-sections deliveries have increasingly become common in both the developed and developing countries. The rate of births from C-section deliveries in the US was 32.7% in 2013 and 32.2% in 2014. Germany and Italy also have high rates -- 32% and 38 %, respectively. However, Brazil tops the list at 52%.