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Family Welfare, highlighted the need for stricter regulation of private hospitals performing C-sections without proper licences.

Md Abu Jafor, director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), called for collective measures to address the issue, saying the government cannot do it alone.

Khurshid Talukder, director (Research) at AWCH, said, “Currently, quality antenatal care in our country is only 22 percent. We must improve basic services, with a goal to increase hospital deliveries to 90 percent by 2030.”

Prof Ferdousi Begum, head of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at AWCH, said alongside clinical measures, non-clinical interventions and midwives play a crucial role in promoting natural deliveries.

Prof Anjuman Ara, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, said, “The C-section rate in Bangladesh is alarmingly high, with nearly half of all deliveries being caesareans, particularly in private hospitals.”

“To tackle this, we implemented 11 interventions at our hospital to reduce the C-section rate from 65 percent to 42 percent in two years. The interventions include counselling mothers on the benefits of natural delivery, waiting for labour pain to progress naturally, and using the Robson Classification to identify high-risk groups,” she added.

Dr Dabir Uddin Ahmed, CEO of AWCH, delivered the welcome address.