Türkiye bans elective C-sections at medical centers in new health regulations

Türkiye’s Ministry of Health has introduced new regulations prohibiting planned cesarean sections without medical necessity at medical centers, as part of broader efforts to encourage natural births across the country.

The updated regulations, published in the Official Gazette, come under the “Healthy Türkiye Century” program and include comprehensive amendments to rules governing private healthcare facilities, including medical centers, polyclinics and private practices.

Under the new measures, medical centers will no longer be permitted to perform planned, elective cesarean sections. Facilities wishing to offer natural birth services must establish dedicated birth units, which will not be authorized in medical centers without operating rooms.

The regulations specify that birth units must have controlled entry and exit points, be positioned away from general circulation areas, and provide easy access to operating rooms. Each birth room must measure at least 16 square meters.

Additional regulatory changes include mandatory electronic record-keeping and reporting for all medical facilities. The ministry will also increase monitoring efforts to ensure medical treatments comply with scientific standards through medical indication and implementation audits.

Medical centers with at least 10 specialist physicians that provide 24-hour continuous service will be permitted to establish emergency units and surgical intervention units.

However, surgical procedures must be of a nature that would not require secondary interventions, and facilities must obtain application permission certificates.

The new framework also allows for the merger of two or more polyclinics to form a medical center and outlines that medical applications in private practices must conform to contemporary medical standards.

Türkiye’s push for natural births

The Health Ministry’s initiative follows concerning trends in Türkiye’s birth statistics. According to reports, cesarean operations have increased by 30% over the past decade, with 61 out of every 100 births now delivered via C-section.

Despite the overall increase, the ministry has reported some success in its efforts, noting that cesarean births have decreased in 51 provinces following targeted interventions.

These regulations come amid an ongoing public debate about women’s reproductive choices in Türkiye. On April 13, Turkish football team Sivasspor displayed a Health Ministry banner reading, “What’s normal is natural birth — cesarean section is not natural unless medically necessary” during a high-profile match, sparking criticism about government involvement in women’s reproductive decisions.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later defended the campaign, framing it as “a matter of national survival” related to Türkiye’s declining birth rates. During the recent inauguration of the Bagcilar Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Istanbul, Erdogan highlighted that the government has built 391 new hospitals nationwide over the past two decades, bringing the total to 1,547.