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| Natural birth is a natural treatment |
Demands to reduce caesarean births in Egypt... and a proposal to return to natural birth
The phenomenon of caesarean births, which Egypt is witnessing a significant increase in, continues to raise many questions about its causes and its transformation into a commercial and "business" business. This has prompted the Ministry of Health to issue a package of binding measures to reduce them and restrict them to only those in extreme necessity.
Abla Al-Alfi, Deputy Minister of Health and General Supervisor of the National Population Council, confirmed that Egypt leads the world in caesarean birth rates, reaching approximately 72% in 2021. She explained that natural birth is the medical norm, while caesarean section is a surgical procedure whose global rate should be limited to no more than 10%. She stated that these rates represent a worrying indicator of the medical system associated with childbirth. In 2000, Egypt recorded low rates, but the rate began to gradually increase, reaching 28% in 2008, while the United States recorded only 33%.
She noted that by 2014, the rate had doubled to 52%, making Egypt the third-highest country in the world for caesarean sections. With the continued increase, Egypt topped the list in 2021 with a record 72%. She added that the decision to resort to caesarean sections should be purely medical and performed only when necessary. She noted that the private sector performs more than 70% of births in Egypt, compared to only 20% in the public sector, which necessitates stricter oversight.
For his part, Dr. Khaled Amin, Assistant Secretary-General of the Doctors Syndicate and Obstetrics and Gynecology Consultant, said, "Resorting to cesarean section should only be done when necessary and with administrative and regulatory procedures in place, as it has become a business, especially since the doctors who perform it charge large sums. Pregnant women also resort to it to relieve the pain of natural childbirth, in addition to the lack of awareness among women and their lack of knowledge of the harmful effects of cesarean sections."
He explained that "natural childbirth is medically preferable for women because it is considered a natural treatment for their pelvic area. It also increases the strength of the muscles in that area in the future, facilitating marital relations and alleviating the pain of childbirth." He added that fears of natural childbirth are limited to the severity of the pain, "and this can be addressed by resorting to pain relief devices." He explained that "some women believe that natural childbirth can deform their reproductive organs, and this is absolutely untrue."
The obstetrics and gynecology consultant emphasized that "natural birth improves the baby's performance and strengthens the muscles of the uterus, pelvis, and abdomen. Oxytocin, the hormone secreted in large quantities during natural birth, also plays a key role in stimulating uterine contractions, which helps dilate the cervix and expel the baby and placenta." He pointed out that natural birth, although safer, requires specific stimulation and long waiting times for the pregnant mother's uterine muscles to prepare for contraction and delivery.
The obstetrics consultant in Egypt called for a return to the use of midwives (a woman who delivered women in Egyptian villages) in the last century. Midwives can wait with pregnant women for hours, up to 20 hours for first-time mothers, to prepare them, while waiting times can reach up to six hours for subsequent births. He said this is a start, as "midwives prepare women for hospital birth until the baby is born, saving doctors long waiting times. Doctors can only be used in cases of difficult labor."
The Assistant Secretary of the Doctors Syndicate proposed, to reduce the rate of cesarean births, expanding the establishment of safe birth units in hospitals, and increasing the wages of obstetricians in the event of a natural birth, to a rate close to that of a cesarean. He also called for the provision of equipment for natural births, such as a continuous fetal heart rate monitor and pain relief devices.
He also called for activating the role of scientific councils and medical committees to discuss cases, review medical procedures, and make birth decisions. The Doctors Syndicate official called for "publishing the Egyptian Obstetrics and Gynecology Protocol and activating medical liability committees so that resorting to cesarean birth is not the safe solution."
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