Spike in C-sections takes toll on gynaecologists in TVVP hospitals

Hyderabad: Gynaecologists working in Telangana Vaidhya Vidhana Parishad hospitals are facing a peculiar problem as they are under constant stress and mental tension for the last few months at work.

The problem is because of directions from senior officials of the health department regarding delivery procedures for primigravida (women giving birth for the first time). All that authorities want these specialist doctors is to opt for a normal delivery procedure unless there are complications.

However, pregnant women and families visiting the Area and District Hospitals and Community Health Centres (CHCs) under Vaidhya Vidhana Parishad across the State are having different ideas. They are requesting doctor to perform Caesarean operation for various reasons.

A gynaecologist working in an Area hospital said that relatives of the pregnant women are showing preference for the C-Section procedure as it is safe, and it can be completed very easily and quickly.

Compare this with normal delivery, the woman has to be kept under close watch for nearly three hours after she develops pains and there are also chances of any complications that might occur later posing risk to life of the mother or new-born child, the lady doctor said. Also, families of the pregnant women are seeing auspicious time and undergoing Caesarean delivery on a particular day and particular time if possible, the gynaecologist said.

Rama Devi, mother of a nine-month pregnant woman in Nizamabad district said normal deliveries are becoming a rarity these days unlike three decades ago. She wants her daughter to undergo C-Section delivery as there is less risk of complications.

Counselling done by gynaecologists to prefer normal delivery is proving futile in many cases. Despite telling them clearly that they have got directions to perform normal delivery for primigravida and hence would have to follow them they are barely in a mood to listen.

Some families are taking the help of elected representatives to put a word to hospital administration to perform C-Section on a particular patient, doctors said. It may be mentioned here that Caesarean to normal deliveries ratio is mostly in the range of 80:20 per 100 cases and the government wants to minimise the difference in ratio in both type of procedures.

Private hospitals are known to perform C-Sections on all pregnant women for obvious reasons including the making of more money from each case. The motive of the higher officials is to bring in a differentiation between the commercial private hospitals and the free serving State hospitals and hence the decision to increase normal deliveries per month across the State.

While the government's motive cannot be faulted, the normal delivery process takes a lot of time and requires continuous monitoring by hospital staff or three to four hours and requires presence of a higher number of staff who have to rush any time of the day or night to carry on the procedure after being alerted.

However, shortage of human resources in VVP hospitals is taking its toll on gynaecologists, who are burdened at work and not able to take care of their personal lives also.

Doctors want the senior officials to take note of the situation at the ground and the changing preference of the pregnant woman families before they compare mode of deliveries being performed in hospitals under VVP.