Vietnam urged to stop rising trend of caesarean section deliveries

The Vietnamese Government should intervene to reduce the rate of caesarean section deliveries, which has been rising in the country, an international expert has said.
Vietnam urged to stop rising trend of caesarean section deliveries ảnh 1At the event (Photo: VNA)
 
 HCM City (VNA) - The VietnameseGovernment should intervene to reduce the rate of caesarean section deliveries,which has been rising in the country, an International Federation of Gynecologyand Obstetrics (FIGO) official has said.

Professor Gerard H.A.Visser, chairman of FIGO’sCommittee for Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health, said world-wide there hasbeen an explosion in caesarean deliveries, ranging from 50 percent in south-easternEurope to 60 percent in some Latin American countries.

In Vietnam, the rate was 33 percent in 2008, hetold an annual Vietnam-France-Asia-Pacific Conference that took place recentlyin Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the Ministry of Health, the ratewas only 12.4 percent in 2003.

Visser said the incidence of C-section hasnothing to do with evidence-based medicine.

The increase in C-sections raises directmaternal morbidity, complications in subsequent pregnancies, neonatal morbiditydue to early delivery, and auto-immune and metabolic disease in the offspring,he said.

It is time to consider the risks of C-sectionsfor long-term child health, he said.

Fees for caesarean deliveries should be reducedfor both the doctor and hospital, he said. Besides, caesarean fees should beused to increase vaginal delivery fees for doctors, better preparation forlabour and delivery, skills training for doctors and upgrading labour wards athospitals, he said.

Nguyen Duc Vinh, head of the Ministry ofHealth’s maternal and child health department, said Visser’s recommendationsare important for policy makers like him.

The two-day conference also highlighted goodnutrition in the 1,000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s secondbirthday.

Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Anh Tuan of the HCM CityUniversity of Medicine and Pharmacy said the 1,000 days are a unique period ofopportunity to ensure children’s optimum health, growth and neurodevelopment.

Good nutrition during this period helps preventnon-communicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes in future, he said.

Other health experts spoke about the importanceof vaccines during pregnancy and children’s first years.

The conference was held by Tu Du Hospitaltogether with the French National College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians,FIGO and the Federation of Asia and Oceania’s Perinatal Societies.

It was attended by hundreds of academics,doctors and experts from Vietnam and other countries like France, Italy, the USand others, who shared their scientific studies and provided an up-to-dateoverview of obstetrics and gynecology, assisted reproductive technology, andscreening, diagnosis and treatment of gynecological cancers.-VNA
VNA

See more

An overview of the meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra and César Louis-Philip Marseille, Managing Director of VAMED Engineering GmbH of Austria and member of the Board of Directors of VAMED+WWH Group of Germany,in Hanoi on October 7. (Photo: VNA)

Deputy PM suggests studying long-term development of hospital ship model

Vietnam is one of VAMED’s important partners in Southeast Asia. The group plans to invest 1.2 billion EUR in Vietnam over the next five years, creating jobs for thousands of workers and promoting knowledge and technology transfer. It also wishes to expand cooperation through preferential credit projects, public-private partnerships (PPPs) and partnerships with private enterprises; and supply medical products from Austria and Germany for Vietnamese partners.

The Son Tra regional medical centre (Photo: benhviensontra.com.vn)

Da Nang: Satellite hospitals prove effective at grassroots level

The model is an important component of the roadmap to turn Da Nang into a specialised medical centre for the central and Central Highlands regions, with a number of key specialties, in line with the spirit of Politburo Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW dated September 9, 2025, on breakthrough solutions to strengthen the protection, care and improvement of people's health.

Illustrative image (Photo: daibieunhandan.vn)

Ho Chi Minh City digitises 99.4% of hospital records

As of July 2026, 163 of the city's 164 hospitals, or 99.4%, adopted electronic medical records, the report said. About 64% of public hospitals and 65% of private hospitals now run the technology across their entire operations

Yersin International Clinic in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)

Ho Chi Minh City eyes more foreign medical tourists

Director of the municipal Department of Health Tang Chi Thuong said a key prerequisite for attracting foreign patients is a strategy to develop centres of medical excellence. He proposed selecting hospitals and specialties with strong expertise for investment towards international standards, particularly in competitive fields such as cardiology, oncology, robotic surgery, assisted reproduction, paediatrics, dentistry, cosmetic medicine, specialised health check-ups, traditional medicine and rehabilitation.

A nurse from Children's Hospital No. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, collects a blood sample for HIV testing from an infant. (Illustrative photo: VNA)

Health cooperation adds fresh momentum to Vietnam-US relations

Through this MOU, the US Department of State, working with Congress, plans to provide 98.75 million USD in life-saving global health assistance over the next five years, including 21.385 million USD in dedicated Global Health Security funding, to support Vietnam’s transition to full country ownership of its HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis programmes while strengthening its capacity to detect and respond to emerging and re-emerging infectious disease threats.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan and US Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer McNamara Wick sign the memorandum of understanding on health cooperation. (Photo: US Embassy in Vietnam)

Vietnam, US launch five-year health cooperation

The cooperation will also support Vietnam in strengthening its healthcare capacity and gradually enhancing self-reliance in HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis prevention and control programmes, as well as in responding to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Tang Chi Thuong (third, right) presents flowers to congratulate six young doctors who have volunteered to work at grassroots-level health stations (Photo: VNA)

Ho Chi Minh City strengthens grassroots healthcare workforce

Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Health on September 10 reviewed a pilot programme combining hospital-based practice with work at grassroots health stations and organised the fourth healthcare job fair, attracting nearly 1,000 candidates and 94 recruiters offering 806 positions.

Children undergo health screening. (Photo: Dong Da General Hospital in Hanoi)

Vietnam to screen students nationwide for five health risks from 2028

Vietnam will launch nationwide screening for five groups of school-related diseases and health conditions among students from preschool through high school from 2028, including overweight and obesity, refractive errors, spinal curvature, oral diseases and mental health disorders.