Turkey’s health ministry has fined more than 100 obstetrician-gynecologists for performing cesarean surgeries, suspending them and forcing them to undergo training.
The country has the highest rate of C-section births among 38 OECD countries, according to the latest data available from 2023, with about 615 such procedures out of every 1,000 live births that year.
Medical experts said C-sections took longer for medical staff – 30 minutes, versus 12 hours for traditional deliveries – and reduced the risk of legal action over complications, ensuring the safety of the doctor and the woman.
Last year, the Turkish government began a campaign to combat falling birth rates under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “Decade of the Family” initiative, which has seen it tighten control over how women give birth.
Erdogan, a devout Muslim who pushes women to have so-called natural births, wants to address Turkey’s record high C-section births, and his government in April 2025 banned the procedure in private health centers without medical justification.
According to Turkish media, more than 100 doctors have been fined for performing C-section surgeries, citing figures released by medical associations across the country, sparking concern from health professionals.
