Are Turkey’s women too posh to push?

By Fazile Zahir

FETHIYE, Turkey – Turkey is suffering from an epidemic that seems to out of control. Like many developing countries, as the level of wealth and standards of education increase there has been a reluctance to give birth naturally and, consequently, a staggering rise in the number of Caesarean-section births.

The first recorded Caesarean, or C-section, in Turkey was in 1879. After 36 hours in labor, a Turkish mother cut her own belly and uterus open with a razor. The wound was sewn up by a neighbor and both mother and infant survived. Since then, C-sections have become increasingly common.

In the late 1980s, 92% of women had natural births. By the mid-1990s this figure had dropped to 81%, and in 2004, normal births constituted 79%. But the past four years have seen an explosion

in these figures and last year only 59% of women were giving birth naturally. It seems that Turkish women have become either too scared, or too posh, to push.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a recommended upper limit for medically justified C-section births of around 15% in any country – Turkey’s current level is more than double this. The figures are even more astounding if looked at on a geographical, educational or monetary basis.

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