Irfan Tramboo
SRINAGAR, June 1: More than one in every two births in J&K is now being conducted through caesarean section, with the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) revealing a sharp rise in surgical deliveries across the Union Territory.
The NFHS-6 (2023-24), released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, found that 51 per cent of births in J&K were delivered through caesarean section, up significantly from 41.7 per cent recorded in NFHS-5 (2019-21).
The trend is particularly pronounced in private healthcare institutions, where 90 percent of deliveries were conducted through caesarean section. Public health facilities also reported a high caesarean rate of 48.6 per cent, indicating that the increase is not confined to the private sector.
Urban areas recorded substantially higher rates of surgical deliveries than rural regions. Nearly 69 per cent of births in urban J&K were delivered through caesarean section, compared to 47.1 per cent in rural areas.
Despite the surge in caesarean deliveries, the survey points to continued improvements in maternal and child healthcare indicators across the Union Territory.
Institutional deliveries increased to 93.6 percent from 92.4 per cent in NFHS-5, indicating that nearly all births now take place in healthcare facilities. More than 80 per cent of these institutional deliveries occurred in Government hospitals and health centres.
Maternal healthcare indicators also registered notable gains. Nearly 90 per cent of women received antenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy, up from 86.6 per cent in the previous survey.
The proportion of mothers receiving at least four antenatal care visits rose sharply from 81.1 per cent to 90.6 per cent, while 96.6 per cent reported receiving antenatal care during pregnancy.
Protection against neonatal tetanus improved as well, with 95.8 percent of mothers reporting adequate protection, compared to 91.9 per cent in NFHS-5.
However, maternal nutrition remains a concern. Only 31.3 percent of pregnant women consumed iron-folic acid supplements for at least 100 days during pregnancy.
The proportion drops to 15.7 per cent among women who consumed the supplements for 180 days or more, highlighting persistent gaps in nutritional compliance despite improved access to healthcare services.
Postnatal care services also showed improvement. The proportion of mothers receiving postnatal care within two days of delivery increased to 88.2 percent from 84.2 percent, while postnatal care coverage for newborns rose from 81.5 per cent to 88.7 per cent.
The survey recorded steady gains in child health and immunisation coverage. The percentage of children aged 12-23 months who were fully vaccinated increased to 89.4 per cent from 86.2 per cent in NFHS-5. Nearly 98 per cent of children received at least one vaccine dose, while BCG vaccination coverage reached 97.5 per cent.
The survey also documented progress in the uptake of newer vaccines. Coverage of the birth dose of the Hepatitis-B vaccine increased from 88.1 per cent to 94.1 per cent, while 91.4 per cent of children received all three doses of the rotavirus vaccine.
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