In statements to the TV show “My Responsibility” on Sada El-Balad TV channel on Sunday, Abdel-Ghaffar said that both families and doctors in Egypt prefer C-section deliveries over natural deliveries to “save time” although the “C-section delivery has a negative impact on women and babies” due to the lack of awareness of "mothers and doctors."

"Studies showed that the C-section delivery affects the mother’s health and her hormonal and muscle balances during pregnancy as well as the growth of the infant naturally in its natural time,” he said, adding that babies delivered through C-section need neonatal units.

The minister added that during his tours in hospitals across Egypt, he has not seen a single empty neonatal unit, noting that the increasing rate of C-section deliveries led to an increasing demand for neonatal units.

He added that 2.2 million babies are born annually in Egypt, including 80 percent through C-section. 

Abdel-Ghaffar revealed that the Ministry of Health is currently working on applying international regulations when it comes to C-section deliveries and when it should be applied in its hospitals before expanding in future stages in the private health sector.

The minister stated that the private health sector in Egypt controls about 60 percent of deliveries in Egypt.

More training will be provided to nurses and midwives to help mothers, according to the minister, along with financial incentives for medical staffers that achieve higher rates of natural births in their hospitals.

Earlier this month, Abdel-Ghaffar gave his directives to lower the rate of "unjustified" C-sections and increase the rate of natural deliveries to protect the health of mothers and newborns.

Abdel-Ghaffar was speaking about the C-section deliveries as part of his visit to Assiut governorate where he had held a lecture about family planning. Assiut has the highest fertility rate in Upper Egypt. 

The minister added that the ministry will soon launch a door-to-door campaign in Upper Egypt governorates to warn about the threats of repeated pregnancy. 

According to the data by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) on the Health of the Egyptian Family (HEF) in late August, C-section births increased to 72 percent in 2021, up from 52 percent in 2014.

C-section operations increased in rural areas to 84 percent in 2021, up from 70.6 percent in 2014.

CAPMAS officials stated that the increase in C-section delieries imposed a burden on the public health sector.

According to a medical article by a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Menoufiya Mohamed Kandil published in 2018, C-section rates have been steadily increasing in Egypt from a low of 4.6 percent in 1992, to 6.7 percent in 1995, 10.3 percent in 2000, and 52 percent in 2014.