Meghalaya to investigate growing shift towards C-section births: Health Minister

Meghalaya Health Minister Wailadmiki Shylla on August 28 assured the Assembly that the state government will conduct a study into the rising number of caesarean section deliveries.

The issue was raised by Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma during the first hour of the final day of the Assembly session. Sangma sought data from the Health Department on the changing pattern of childbirth, pointing to what he described as a shift away from normal deliveries towards surgical births.

Sangma said the trend warranted closer examination rather than being viewed only in comparison with figures from other states. Referring to his own family, he said he and his siblings were born through home deliveries, while normal births now appeared to be declining.

Responding to the concern, Shylla said Meghalaya's caesarean section rate remained below the national average. However, he acknowledged that the increase in such procedures was a matter of concern.

The minister said caesarean deliveries were not undertaken by the department without medical reasons or complications. He added that factors such as changing fertility patterns and the health and physical condition of women could be influencing the trend.

"We will come up with every possible way to avoid C-section," Shylla said.

Sangma pressed for a comprehensive study to establish why the pattern was changing in Meghalaya, arguing that the trend appeared unusual and needed to be examined in the state's specific context.