A member of the Egypt’s parliamentary health committee put forward an enquiry on Sunday into the high rates of cesarean section operations in Egypt that are endangering the lives of several females.
He said, “Egypt has the highest rate of cesarean delivery in the world of 63%, while the World Health Organization urged that cesarean section should not exceed 15% in any society.”
He added that Egypt’s percentage exceeded this limit due to hospitals’ greed to make big profits.
Doctors usually took advantage of critical pregnancy to conduct caesarean delivery, although the most appropriate solution in these cases is natural childbirth. These transgressions have led to many women losing their babies, and causing health issues for the baby and/or the mother, and in many cases, death, he said.
The parliamentarian called for spreading awareness about the mechanism of dealing with critical pregnancies in all its cases, and eliminating what she called the “business of cesarean delivery”, by requiring private hospitals and doctors that their preference should be given to natural delivery unless the case requires it.
Member Magdy Al-Morshed from the committee of health said in a televised interview that such a suggestion is very important, adding that the proportion of cesarean sections in Egypt has increased significantly, unlike what is happening in the world, where the proportion of natural births increase more.
He also said that a total of 55% of births in Egypt are being through Caesarean operations, explaining that this is due to societal culture, as some women refuse to feel pain, or that they remain for 16 hours until they have their first child, as well as wanting a specific date of birth.
Al-Morshed noted the risks of cesarean delivery are many and problems are greater for the health of the mother. He suggested conducting a study on the phenomenon to know its reasons
Al-Morshed suggested that there must a certain criteria set by the ministry of health through the Syndicate of Doctors and scientific societies for women and obstetrics, as well as the health committee in Parliament, to be distributed to hospitals and doctors performing by caesarean sections, which must include a strong reason why the female should avoid natural birth, or maternal condition, with disciplinary sanctions for those who do not comply.
