C-section – The reality we can not ignore. 

TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2026

 

The reality we can not ignore. 

 

South Africa has one of the highest rates of preventable maternal deaths in the world. A significant number of those deaths happen during or after a Caesarean section.

 

According to the latest Saving Mothers report by the NCCEMD, 59% of maternal deaths are considered possibly or probably preventable within the health system. The C-section rate has risen to 31.1% nationally. And over 88% of those deaths occur in the public sector, where facilities are most stretched and resources most constrained.

 

Women undergoing C-sections face almost 3 times the risk of death compared to vaginal delivery. That is not a small number. That is a crisis hiding in plain sight.

 

The causes are not always dramatic. They are often systemic. Overburdened theatres. Delays in recognising complications. Inadequate surgical preparation. Breakdowns in sterile technique. Small failures with devastating consequences.

 

C-sections are lifesaving procedures. But only when the conditions around them are right. When the systems work. When the team is prepared. When the instruments are reliable. When every detail inside that theatre is given the attention it deserves.

 

Because a mother walking into theatre deserves to walk out.

 

This week we are unpacking what really happens inside the operating theatre during a C-section and what it will take to change these numbers.

 

Preventable Maternal Deaths: Safer C-Sections Save Lives.