Turkiye bans elective C-sections at private medical centres

ISTANBUL: Turkiye has imposed a ban on elective Caesarian-section births at private healthcare facilities without a medical justification under new health ministry regulations published this weekend in the government´s official gazette.

The move, which has sparked a furious response from opposition politicians and rights groups, came after a heated debate in Turkiye over how women should give birth.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been pushing hard for women to have so-called natural births.

“Planned Caesarean sections cannot be performed in a medical centre,” said an April 19 gazette entry outlining new regulations governing private healthcare institutions, which hit the headlines on Sunday.

Turkiye has the highest rate of C-section births among the OECD´s 38 nations, according to the last available data from 2021. Figures from the World Population Review show there were 584 such procedures out of every 1,000 live births that year.

The childbirth debate flared up last weekend at the start of a Super Lig football clash between Fenerbahce and Sivassapor. Sivassapor players walked onto the pitch carrying a huge banner reflecting a health ministry initiative to promote vaginal births, reading: “Natural birth is natural”.

The move sparked fury from politicians, doctors and women´s rights organisations.

“As if the country had no other problems, male football players are telling women how to give birth,” wrote Gokce Gokcen, deputy chair of the main opposition CHP on X.