Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has ordered Caesarean Section (C-Section) Audit of delivery cases to all private hospitals in the state.
The Director of Family Welfare issued instructions Thursday to all Chief District Medical Officers (CDMOs) and Public Health Officers (PHOs) of all districts and urban bodies to ensure implementation of the audit in their respective areas of jurisdiction from May 1 of the current year.
Previously C-Section Audit was being done in all Government health facilities.
The government issued the order after 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 delivery increased from 53.7 per cent to 70.7 per cent which was higher than the ideal C-Section rate recommended by WHO panel of reproductive child health.
The panel after re-examining the C-Section Rate in 2015 also mentioned, “At population level, caesarean section rates higher than 10 percent are not associated with reductions in maternal and newborn mortality rates”.
For the purpose, three different prototype audit formats were worked out, and circulated to all districts.
Each CDMO and PHO was also asked to designate a programme officer for coordinating with private health facilities regarding the proper implementation of the C-Section audit.
Medical experts said that outcomes of the audit would be helpful in making reproductive child health care more effective in the coming years.
UNI