Turkey has suspended approximately 100 obstetricians and gynecologists for performing cesarean section operations as part of a new national health policy aimed at reducing surgical interventions during childbirth.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has publicly championed “natural” childbirth and called for a reduction in the country’s high rate of cesarean sections. According to OECD data from 2023, Turkey ranks first among 38 partner countries with about 615 cesarean interventions per 1,000 live births.
In 2025, the government introduced the Decade of the Family program to address declining fertility rates, which prohibits cesarean sections in private clinics without strict medical necessity. The Antalya Doctors’ Chamber reported that doctors have been issued warnings, subjected to disciplinary investigations, suspended from work, and required to complete prenatal training due to the country’s elevated cesarean section rates.
Additionally, Andrey Prodeus, chief pediatric allergist and immunologist at the Ministry of Health of the Moscow Region, noted on July 8 that children born via cesarean section are more prone to allergies because they do not pass through the mother’s birth canal, leading to a different microbiota development.
