Medical professionals face fines, suspensions and mandatory retraining as Ankara tightens restrictions on C-section births amid efforts to reverse declining birth rates….
Turkey’s Health Ministry has sanctioned more than 100 obstetricians and gynaecologists over their use of Caesarean section deliveries, imposing fines, suspending some from medical practice and ordering mandatory retraining as part of a wider government campaign to reduce the country’s high C-section rate.
According to a report by BirGun newspaper on Saturday, the disciplinary measures have sparked criticism from healthcare professionals, who argue that the government’s approach fails to address the underlying challenges within Turkey’s healthcare system.
Turkey currently records the highest Caesarean section rate among the 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The latest available data from 2023 shows that approximately 615 out of every 1,000 live births in the country were delivered by C-section.
Medical experts have previously explained that Caesarean deliveries are often preferred because they are significantly faster than vaginal births, reducing delivery time from several hours to roughly 30 minutes. They also say the procedure lowers the risk of legal disputes arising from complications during childbirth while offering greater predictability for both doctors and patients.
The crackdown comes as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration intensifies efforts to boost the country’s declining birth rate under its “Decade of the Family” initiative.
As part of the policy, the government banned elective Caesarean deliveries at private hospitals in April 2025 unless there is a clear medical necessity, while continuing to encourage what officials describe as natural childbirth.
Figures cited by BirGun indicate that more than 100 doctors have already faced disciplinary action over the number of Caesarean procedures they performed.
The Antalya Chamber of Physicians said affected obstetricians had received formal warnings, been subjected to disciplinary investigations, temporarily suspended from practising and ordered to complete antenatal training programmes because of what authorities described as excessively high Caesarean rates.
In a separate report, Diken news website highlighted the case of an obstetrician at a private hospital in Sakarya, near Istanbul, who was reportedly dismissed at the request of the Health Ministry after being found to have performed a high number of Caesarean deliveries.
The doctor was subsequently suspended from medical practice for six months and instructed to undergo additional training at a state hospital. According to the report, the physician must also pass a competency examination before being permitted to resume practice.
Reacting to the government’s actions, Dr Ayse Gultekingil, a senior official of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), argued that punishing doctors would not solve the country’s high Caesarean rate.
She maintained that the issue reflects broader structural problems within Turkey’s healthcare system rather than the decisions of individual physicians.
“Turkey’s Caesarean birth rate exceeds 60 percent. But the method of delivery reflects various problems within Turkey’s healthcare system,” she said.
