C-section: About Tk 29b spent unnecessarily every year

A total of 38.46 billion is spent on Caesarean section or C-section surgery in the country annually, but about 29 billion of those are spent unnecessarily. Experts said performing a caesarean section increases the risk to the health of mothers and newborn babies.

The matter was highlighted at an event to release the final report of the 2022 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey at the BANBEIS auditorium in Dhaka on Thursday. National Population Research Institute (NIPORT), International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) and the US donor agency USAID jointly organised the event.

The Demographic and Health Survey is considered to be a credible source of data and statistics on the health sector, and it is often cited by policymakers, researchers, physicians, donor agencies, journalists and others. The survey report has been released every 2-3 years since 1994. The preliminary findings of the 2022 survey were released in April 2022. A 502-page final report was published on Thursday.

Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman, a scientist at icddr,b, presented the infants’ birth places, normal births, and caesarean babies part of the survey. He said 3.6 million infants are born in the country annually, and 2 million of them are of normal birth while the remaining 1.6 million are Caesarean babies, and 80 per cent of the C-sections are performed at private hospitals and clinics.

A normal birth costs Tk 7,765 while a C-Section costs Tk 23,944. Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman said Tk 38.46 billion was spent on C-section and three-fourth or Tk 28.84 billion of that money was spent unnecessarily. Besides, 87 per cent of those surgeries are performed at private hospitals and clinics.

Gynaecologists and paediatricians said surgery is a lifesaving method. A maximum of 15 per cent of childbirths might need surgery due to pregnancy and birth complications, but side effects come along. Women sometimes risk profuse bleeding or infection in their bodies and complications in pregnancy in the future. Besides, newborn babies risk breathing complications and low blood sugar.

According to the 2022 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, childbirths at hospitals or clinics, mostly private-run facilities, increased to 65 per cent from 39 per cent in the 2017-18 survey.

NIPORT director (research) Mohammed Ahsanul Alam presented the condition of Bangladesh on 15 health directors. He said 64 per cent of couples use birth control equipment in the country. A maximum of 61 per cent of couples use birth control equipment in Rajshahi and Rangpur while a lowest of 44 per cent of couples use it in Sylhet division.

Forty-one per cent of expecting mothers receive pre-birth care four times; 70 per cent of women receive assistance from trained health workers during childbirth; 65 per cent of infants are born at hospitals or clinics and 3 per cent of newborns receive emergency care.