BENGALURU: More babies are entering the world under the surgeon’s scalpel in Karnataka than ever before. In the past three years alone, the state recorded a 20% rise in C-section deliveries.Health and family welfare department data accessed by TOI showed that in 2024-25, out of 8.32 lakh institutional deliveries registered in the state, 3.88 lakh were C-section deliveries. Surprisingly, Bengaluru Urban alone contributes 20% of the total C-section deliveries recorded in 2024-25. This is not a sudden jump; Bengaluru Urban’s C-section rate has been rising steadily, from 43.25% in 2022-23 to 44.26% in 2023-24, and now touching new highs. Out of 1.46 lakh deliveries registered in the district this year, 72,014 were C-sections, almost every second birth.Other districts like Belagavi(35,903), Tumakuru (18,999), Kalaburagi (17,202), and Vijayapura (16,440) are also seeing higher-than-average surgical births, while Chamarajanagar and Kodagu stand out with significantly lower rates, reporting just 4,447 and 1,948 C-sections respectively since April 2024.Dr Savitha C, Medical Superintendent at Vani Vilas Hospital, shed light on the rising C-section trend. “There’s a clear surge in high-risk pregnancies today, often driven by increasing lifestyle disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Infertility treatments are also on the rise, not just due to medical conditions like PCOS, but because many women now delay childbirth or prefer assisted reproduction, often due to fear of labour or a conscious decision to have only one child,” she explained.Medical advancements, she noted, made it possible for even women with serious cardiac issues to carry pregnancies, something unthinkable a few decades ago. Still, she cautioned: “Normal delivery, when possible, is always better. A woman who delivers naturally is up and walking within hours, while a C-section is major surgery that carries risks of infection, delayed recovery, and, rarely, mortality.”Dr Sapna Raina, Senior Consultant at Narayana Health City, emphasised early intervention: “To truly reduce C-section rates, we must focus on first-time mothers. A primary cesarean often leads to repeat surgeries in future pregnancies because a scarred uterus carries rupture risks. Many women today, especially in cities like Bengaluru, undergo IVF or conceive later in life, factors that raise the likelihood of complications. Add to that the emotional weight of a ‘precious pregnancy’ in couples who want only one child, and C-sections become the preferred choice in even borderline cases.”Another often-overlooked factor, says Dr Priya S P Patil, Consultant at Altius Hospital, is cultural. “Yes, we’ve seen a rise in elective C-sections driven by requests to deliver at an ‘auspicious time.’ Many families want their child born at a specific hour for spiritual or astrological reasons. That’s increasingly common now,” she highlighted.She added that legal concerns also weigh heavily on doctors. “In prolonged labour, where outcomes can’t always be predicted, physicians often choose surgery over risk to avoid litigation. When you combine all this, repeat C-sections, older mothers, lifestyle diseases, elective preferences, and fear of lawsuits, the numbers make sense. But we must remember, cesarean is a life-saving procedure when needed. When not, it’s still a major operation with long-term consequences like scarring, infertility, and difficult recoveries.”