Erdogan advocates for natural birth over cesarean section, says it’s better for women

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday inaugurated the Bagcilar Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Istanbul, using the event to highlight major healthcare improvements in Türkiye’s healthcare system over the past two decades.

During the event, he defended a campaign launched by Türkiye’s Health Ministry promoting natural childbirth over cesarean section, which sparked widespread public debate across the Türkiye’s political spectrum.

On natural birth vs. cesarean section and Türkiye’s population policy

Erdogan responded to recent backlash against a football club that supported a campaign promoting natural childbirth.

“A football club took part in a public awareness campaign and displayed a banner. There was no insult, no criticism, and nothing offensive to women,” he said. “The intention was only to highlight a very serious issue — a bleeding wound of our nation.”

Erdogan referred to Turkish football team Sivasspor’s banner, which read, “What is normal is natural birth,” a banner prepared by Türkiye’s Health Ministry. The ministry’s campaign argues that cesarean sections are unnatural unless medically necessary.

“Our club took the right step,” Erdogan said. “But certain circles immediately launched an attack, targeted the club, and then turned their criticism on us.”

He challenged critics, saying: “Why are you so disturbed by our health ministry encouraging natural birth (versus casarean section)? The facts are in front of us — our population growth rate and fertility rate are clear. The threats ahead of us are real.”

“This is a matter of national survival,” Erdogan said. “We will not waste time on these outbursts. We will not allow our nation to be poisoned by deviant ideologies. Our uncompromising stance on this issue will continue.”

He emphasized that the government sees declining birth rates as an existential threat:
“This is not just a demographic issue. This is a threat to our future. And we will not remain silent.”

Professionals divided on the issue of natural birth vs. cesarean section

Medical opinion on the matter remains divided. A senior childbirth specialist, speaking to Türkiye Today on condition of anonymity, explained the complexity of the issue.

“Some doctors say natural (vaginal) birth is healthier, while others claim cesarean birth is healthier, so doctors are actually divided on this issue,” the specialist said.

“Although it’s believed that natural birth eliminates certain disease risks because the mother delivers completely normally through the vaginal canal, it can also cause vaginal loosening and pigmentation that affects the mother’s future life and can lead to postpartum urinary incontinence.”

‘A major transformation in healthcare’

“In the last 23 years, we have made a major transformation in the healthcare sector,” Erdogan said. “We’ve established a modern healthcare infrastructure that many other countries come to examine.”

Erdogan stated that 391 new hospitals have been built nationwide, bringing the total number of hospitals in Türkiye to 1,547.

“This year, we will open 100 more Healthy Life Centers across 16 medical specialties,” he announced. “We’ve also launched the Healthy Life Academy in all 81 provinces.”

He noted that in 2002, Istanbul had 19,715 public hospital beds, most of them insufficient. “We have increased this number to 30,726. Including private and university hospitals, Istanbul now has a total of 45,481 beds.”

Erdogan also cited significant growth in primary care services: “In 2002, there were 217 health centers with 762 doctors. Today, we have 1,147 family health centers with 4,264 family doctors.”