Private clinics in Turkey are no longer allowed to perform planned cesarean section births unless it is necessary for medical reasons. Over the weekend, the Ministry of Health published a corresponding order banning this type of operation, which caused a wave of indignation. The first protests against the new regulation have already been scheduled in Istanbul and Ankara, the German public media outlet ARD reported.
Erdogan wants more births
The Turkish government is trying to stimulate population growth and is putting enormous pressure on women to give birth, criticized the ban by doctor Aysegul Ates Tarla from the leadership of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB). According to her, this suggests that women are recklessly choosing caesarean sections.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared 2025 the "year of the family". Therefore, a few months ago, the Ministry of Health launched a campaign against caesarean sections, ARD recalls. The aim is to reduce the proportion of caesarean births, "to encourage normal childbirth and maintain sustainable population growth."
While women can become pregnant again relatively quickly after a vaginal birth, a longer recovery period is often recommended after a caesarean section. According to the World Population Review, 584 out of 1,000 live births in Turkey were born by cesarean section, we learn more from the ARD publication.
Disputed advertising campaign with football players
The debate was further fueled by an advertising campaign by the Ministry of Health during a match in the first Turkish football league: over the weekend, players from the elite club "Sivasspor" took to the field with a huge poster reading "Natural birth is real".
The deputy chairwoman of the largest opposition Republican People's Party, Gokce Gokcen, reacted with incomprehension: "Male football players tell women how to give birth. Keep your hands off women's bodies," she wrote on the X platform.