Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Kashmala Khan, 24, an expectant mother, was about to give birth to her first child. Except for the labour pain, she was relaxed and was aiming for a normal delivery. She was taken to a labour room of a private clinic at the University Town, Peshawar, for delivery. Everything seemed normal in the beginning as the doctors ran a few tests. Just at the eleventh hour, the gynaecologist announced that the baby had a low heartbeat and a caesarean would be the only option to consider.

She, however, was lucky as her father was a doctor too and advised her to take a second opinion from another doctor. She was rushed to another hospital where the doctors examined her condition and ruled out the need for any surgery. After six arduous hours she delivered a baby with normal procedure.

C-section or caesarean section is the delivery method through surgery. Doctors around the world advise it when a normal delivery is not possible or there is a least chance of danger to the life of baby or the mother. World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a caesarean option if there is any medical complexity in the normal delivery procedure.

In Peshawar, caesarean section is mostly dependent upon the will and whim of the gynaecologists. A normal delivery is considered time consuming and entails little profits. While on the other hand, a caesarean is quick and profitable with little efforts.

Many senior gynaecologists declined to comment on the issue. One of them only agreed to say on the condition of anonymity. She admitted that majority of the doctors running private clinics opt for caesarean only to earn more money and quickly. She, however, warned the expectant mothers and their attendants to at least avail second opinions before considering the surgery. She added once an expectant mother was operated upon, the prospects of a normal delivery for her in future also die down.

Aqleem Khan, a microbiologist by profession who administers a private hospital in the city, said, “The practice of C-section is alarmingly on the rise across the province particularly Peshawar.” He remarked the gynaecologists in most of the cases perform it against the will of the mother and attendants. He observed that the greed for money was the basic motive behind carrying out the surgery in most of the cases.

Normally, a C-section at a private hospital in Peshawar cost at least Rs 30,000. Some charge more and depend upon the location and facilities including staff at the hospital. The fee rate ranges between Rs 40,000 to over 100,000 at the posh areas in the city.

Aqleem lamented that private clinics fleece the people on the expense of their misery without looking at it from the angle of humanity.

Dr Ihsaan Khlaiq, a retired senior radiologist, said just to earn few more bucks the doctors commit a violation of the ‘Hippocratic oath’ they had taken before entering the profession.

He maintained, “The irony is these outlets lack proper medical staff including doctors, nurses, and basic facilities like blood bank. Still they are thriving and run without any fear of reprisal because the authorities concerned have turned a blind eye towards the practice.”

He urged the government to play its due role “to stop these private practitioners from fleecing the poor people in distress.” He added that a strict check and balance system was needed to keep an eye on such privately-run medical outlets.

Dr Ihsan Khaliq also urged the people to not seek shortcuts by considering C-section when it was not needed. He added a normal delivery was more healthy and safe option for both the mother and the baby.

“Ask critical questions from the doctors you are visiting and do consider a second opinion if one is confronted with a situation where the doctors opt for surgery,” he advised.