As caesarean births rise in Bangladesh, wound infections after surgery have become a serious concern, with many mothers suffering pus, fever and severe pain. Dr Meherin Sultana, a medicine and surgery specialist at Chattogram Medical College, has explained the reasons.
According to the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2022, she said, 45 percent of all births in the country are now by caesarean, against just 3 percent in the 1999-2000 survey. About 83 percent of births in the private sector are caesarean against 36 percent at public facilities, and 56 percent in towns against 40 percent in rural areas.
An observational study published in 2025 followed 1,335 mothers for 30 days after caesareans at six tertiary hospitals, three public and three private. It found post-operative wound infection in 19.1 percent of them, 21.6 percent at public hospitals and 11.8 percent at private ones, and 54.8 percent showed at least two signs of infection 7 to 14 days after surgery.
Not all patients arrive at surgery in the same condition, she explained. Some have planned caesareans; others arrive in an emergency after long labour. Many already have diabetes, anaemia or obesity, and in many the waters break long before. Long labour, ruptured membranes, emergency surgery and the patient's own weakness together raise the risk.
But she said patient factors cannot hide hospitals' failings: the unusual rise in caesareans, uncontrolled antibiotic use and weak sterilisation also play a part. Risk does not mean certain infection; assessing risk before surgery and closely monitoring high-risk mothers afterwards is the main way to prevent it.
Source: Dinajpur TV
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