AWCH Commitment to Reducing Unnecessary C-Sections

Bangladesh is experiencing one of the fastest rises in caesarean section (CS) rates in the world, due mainly to medicalisation and commercial pressures. In 2025, approximately 1.7 million women had unnecessary CS in the country. This exposed mothers to avoidable surgical risk, prolonged recovery, disrupted breastfeeding and bonding, long-term obstetric complications, and financial burden, while newborns missed critical biological adaptation including microbiome transfer. Ashulia Women and Children Hospital has for the past decade demonstrated that this trend is reversible: disciplined clinical governance and evidence-based maternity practices safely reduced CS rates without compromising maternal or neonatal outcomes. This document synthesises evidence, patient experience, and operational learning to guide practical reform and ensure caesarean delivery is used only when medically justified.