A MOH representative spoke about the rate with VietNamNet at an event on February 23 held by the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology to celebrate the anniversary of Vietnamese Doctor’s Day.

In 2005, the cesarean section rate in Vietnam was 12 percent. In 2022, the figure rose to 37 percent. But the rate should be 10-15 percent to avoid complications for mothers and fetuses. 

The survey on Vietnam Sustainable Development Goal indicators on Children and Women (SDGCW) 2020-2021 found that the cesarean section rate in Vietnam accounted for 34.4 percent of total births, an increase of 7 percent over 2014. Of this, 20 percent were decided before labor and 14 percent after labor.

The rate was high in cities, which accounted for 43 percent of births. Nearly half of urban women choose to have a cesarean section at private health facilities.

The high cesarean section rate has raised concern about the overuse of the technique which could affect the health of mothers and fetuses. The Ministry of Health said there should be interventions in the entire health system and community in order to reduce the number of cesarean section cases.

At the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, there are more than 20,000 births each year of which more than half are cesarean sections, with the rate of cesarean sections increasing gradually over the years. The same rates are reported for other large hospitals in Hanoi.

Tran Danh Cuong, Director of the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said that the hospital has a high cesarean section rate because this is the last-line hospital which receives serious cases where mothers or fetuses have pathological signs. The rate of mothers who want an active cesarean section on demand is also high as they want their babies to be born at selected hours.

Cuong stressed that it would be much better to give normal birth and expressed his worry about the increased rate of cesarean section rates. The mothers with normal births don’t face the complications of cesarean section. Also, they need less time to recover after the birth.

Linh Giao