In a major step towards maternal and child health care, the Odisha government on Friday expanded the Caesarean Section (C-Section) Audit of delivery cases to all private hospitals.

The Director of Family Welfare also issued instructions to the chief district medical and Public Health officers of all districts and urban bodies in this regard. Health authorities have been asked to ensure the implementation of the audit in their respective areas of jurisdiction from May 1, this year.

Previously, C-Section Audit was being done in all Government health facilities.
“Available data showed that there was a sharp increase in caesarean deliveries between National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 of 2015-16 and NFHS-5 of 2019-21. During this period, C-Section increased from 53.7 per cent to 70.7 per cent which was higher than the ideal C-Section rate recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) panel of reproductive child health,” the government said in a press note.

The panel, after re-examining the C-Section Rate in 2015, mentioned, “At the population level, caesarean section rates higher than 10 per cent are not associated with reductions in maternal and newborn mortality rates.”

“This indicated the need for addressing the cause of C-Section rise in the State,” the statement read.

“In view of this need, Government expanded the C-Section Audit system to all private health facilities as well. For this purpose, three different prototype audit formats were worked out and circulated to all districts. At the first level, the audit would be done as per specifications in Format-A which would be compiled in Format-B. The Chief District Medical and Public Health Officers (CDMPHOs) after due scrutiny would submit the report to the Directorate in Format-C,” it said.

“Each CDMPHO was also asked to designate a programme officer for coordinating with private health facilities regarding proper implementation of the C-Section Audit. Medical experts said that outcomes of the audit would be helpful in making the reproductive child health care more effective in coming years,” the letter read further.