Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca visited the first baby of 2019, Muhammed Ali, son of Ms. Elif Eser and Mr. Enes Eser, at Zeynep Kamil Gynecologic and Pediatric Training and Research Hospital.
Dr. Koca presented flowers and a gift to the family, and expressed his good wishes for the new-born.
Visiting the hospital in order to see the first babies of the year and congratulate their parents, Health Minister stated that “Around 1 million 250 thousands babies are born every year but most of the deliveries are performed with C-section. Ratio of C-sections is 54% and it is still increasing at private hospitals while it has stabilized at public hospitals. C-section in fact is not a kind of delivery, but a surgical operation that should be preferred in case of any life-threatening condition for the baby or mother. So vaginal delivery should be preferred”.
Underlining the benefits of vaginal delivery and health problems that may be caused by C-section, Health Minister added that “C-section may cause respiratory problems for the baby, which may require transfer of the new-born to the intensive care. And immunity of the baby called flora develops better in case of vaginal delivery.” For all the reasons above, Dr. Koca stated that the Ministry will prepare an action plan to place the midwifery at the center of the pregnancy and delivery process in order to promote normal delivery and reduce the rate of C-sections.
Concerning the breast milk, another important issue for the babies, Health Minister said the followings:
“Breast milk for the first six months increased to 48% while it was 32% in 2016. We attach great importance to feed the newborn with only breast milk during the first six months. It is a very special nutrition meeting all needs of the baby, including water, if taken in sufficient amount in early periods. There is no other nutrition that can be better or more important that breast milk for the babies.