The Cherthala taluk headquarters hospital has reduced caesarean births by almost 17 per cent in the last few months.

The hospital had generated controversy this April after 22 caesarean sections were performed in two days allegedly to allow doctors to take leave.

The hospital superintendent, Dr R Ramya, said that of the 106 delivery cases admitted to the hospital in November, 56 were normal deliveries while 50 were caesarean.

“We have reduced the rates step by step,” said Dr Ramya. “The directorate of health services issued guidelines to the hospital after the mass caesarean became a controversy.”

She also added that most of the caesarean sections conducted last year related to second births.
“If first delivery was by caesarean, second will inevitably be caesarean,” she added. “We have now taken effective steps including conducting awareness programmes to decrease the caesarean rate.”

Meanwhile, the district medical officer, Dr K.M. Sirabudhin, said the authorities were keeping a keen eye on the hospital following the controversy.

“For the first time, the caesarean rate in the hospital has come down,” he said. “The hospital superintendent and other doctors have been given special directive to make people aware of the disadvantages of conducting unnecessary caesarean sections.”

The members of the directorate of health service had also conducted routine inspections to evaluate the functioning of the hospital.