Rising C-sections, lack of sunlight exposure affecting women's reproductive health

By: WE Staff | Friday, 25 March 2022

According to Human M. Fatemi, Senior Consultant Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine More Indian women opting for delivery through Caesarean (C-section) and less numbers getting direct exposure to sunlight can have a long-term adverse effect on their overall reproductive health.

“The 5 ^th National Family Health Survey revealed that the national C-section rate is 21.5 per cent. This is nearly double that of World Health Organization’s (WHO) ideal of 10-15 per cent. But the major concern is that this rate jumps to 47.4 per cent when it comes to private centres. This unambiguous rise in C-sections and the difference between the same procedures in government run hospitals versus private hospitals may have serious implications for women’s health, their future fertility, ability to bear children in future and the likelihood of a live birth, all are at risk,” Fatemi said.  

The most important point is not about the choice to have a second or subsequent child but the ability to do so, he says.  

Fatemi also said there is a definitive association between vitamin D levels in women and their ovarian reserves.

“As part of the basic fertility assessment, blood tests are taken to measure Vitamin D concentration and transvaginal ultrasound scans are performed on day 2-5 of the cycle to determine Antral Follicle Count (AFC). In humans, exposure of the skin to sunlight is the main and critically important source of vitamin D,” he added.

  “It is our choice of lifestyle, from the clothes that we wear to the skin lotions that we use that give us lower exposure to natural sunlight. This choice may be a cause of our lower levels of Vitamin D and may unknowingly be preventing us from getting the other associated health benefits of direct exposure to sunlight,” he further said.