Odisha To Audit Caesarean Section Childbirths in Private Hospitals

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday expanded the Caesarean Section (C-Section) Audit of delivery cases to all private hospitals, marking a significant advancement in maternal health care.

The chief district medical and public health officials of all districts and urban entities received directives in this respect from the Director of Family Welfare. From May 1 of this year, health authorities are asked to ensure that the audit is implemented in their respective spheres of authority.

In the past, C-Section audits were conducted in all government-run medical facilities.“Available data showed that there was a sharp increase in caesarean deliveries between the 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.

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

“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.