Shillong, Aug 28: Health Minister Wailadmiki Shylla on Thursday assured the Assembly that the department will conduct a study into rising Caesarean deliveries in Meghalaya.
The assurance came after a 50-minute discussion on institutional deliveries raised by Leader of Opposition Dr Mukul Sangma.
“Most of the mothers are required to undergo… normal deliveries are becoming less. There are many deliveries where mothers are required to undergo cesarean section, and it is happening with more frequency than ever before,” Dr Sangma said.
He called for a scientific study and said Meghalaya should not just compare with other states.
“It may be the same trend elsewhere, but I think we should be the first mover to know as to why this trend is something which was not seen in the past,” he said.
Shylla said the C-section rate in Meghalaya is below national average and government hospitals do it only on medical complications.
“Definitely, always it is the expectation of every mother that they should give birth in a natural delivery,” he said.
The minister attributed the rise to weakening health of women and high fertility.
“Even if you compare from the past and even now, you can see that the trend has seen that in women also they have become a little bit weak,” Shylla said.
“We are already in the process… I assure the honourable LO that proper study will be done,” he added.
During the discussion, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said ASHA-First system tracks high-risk mothers in real-time, adding institutional deliveries were 80.49 per cent in August.
