The drop in natural and cesarean births in hospitals and private clinics has been reflected since 2013, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC).
In 2013 there were 26,105 natural childbirth procedures in the private sector and in 2021 only 9,030 were registered.
As for caesarean sections, there is also a difference, although not as wide as in natural births. In 2013, there were 74,435 cesarean deliveries in the private sphere and last year there were 57,971 procedures.
According to experts, The economic crisis linked to the lack of employment is the main characteristic of this decline in the private sector, which is on the rise compared to the public sector.
For example, in natural births, only in 2013 99,733 were registered, but as of 2014 there are more than 100,000 births. In 2018 there were 134,962; in 2019 there were 133,882; in 2020, when the pandemic began, there were 118,892 and in 2021 dropped to 111,932 deliveries.
As for caesarean sections, there is also a permanence in coming to public attention. In 2020 there were 63,408 cesarean deliveries and in 2021 there were 63,256 procedures.
So far in 2022, there have been 3,397 emergencies for mothers in labor
According to him gynecologist Francisco Cepedathe decrease in natural and cesarean deliveries in the private sector is due to the economic factor.
“It generally corresponds to the expected cycles of the economy in which when there is more employment, there is greater access to private services, but now we know that we are in a stage where the economy is not doing well and That is why there is a higher percentage of unemployment and therefore access to private servicesCepeda explains.
The gynecologist has also noticed that his patients, who began medical consultation and prenatal check-ups under his supervision, then they have opted for public services, precisely because of the lack of resources.
“There is also a decrease in care at the IESS (Ecuadorian Social Security Institute), people have lost their jobs and therefore their affiliation and that is when they go to public health,” says Cepeda.
With this agrees the master doctor and gynecologist Shirley Floreswho considers that the reduction of natural and cesarean deliveries in the private sector it also comes from the side of optimizing costs.
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“Because everything is free in the public, then the costs decrease for that patient. If the patient undergoes labor, this helps so that the child, when passing through the vaginal canal, produces a compression of his thoracic cavity, which causes him to cry at birth and throw all the amniotic fluid that he has in her lungs… the mother loses less blood, there is less chance of infections and costs are very low relative to a caesarean section and recover quicklysays Flores.
The gynecologist has also seen this change of patients starting in private care and then moving to public care.
However, Cepeda points out that when going to public hospitals the woman or mother-to-be faces scenarios such as the lack of medical supplies.
“It is an issue that is felt in the public sector. If there is the ability to cover this expense, it is preferable (in private) because the attention is personalized. In public, it is the professional and the unit that is available, but the situation forces to go for what there is”, adds Cepeda.
Births of mothers between 15 and 19 years old decreased in 2021
Both 2020 and 2021 show a particular characteristic in the number of births carried out in the country by minors and adults, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC).
There were 1,653 mothers between the ages of 10 and 14 in 2020. In that year, there were fewer births in that age segment. Meanwhile, in 2015 there was the highest number with 2,577 mothers. The INEC has these records since 2013 in a digital section.
Meanwhile, in 2021 a decrease in births with mothers between 15 and 19 years of age was reflected, that is, it groups minors and adults. There were 39,486 registered mothers, which compared to 2015 was a total of 59,697. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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