Deliveries at Keralam’s Kozhikode Government Women and Children’s Hospital decline

Normal deliveries are declining and C-section deliveries remain high at the Government Hospital for Women and Children at Kottaparamba in Kozhikode City, Keralam.

According to the Health department, there were a total of 5,201 deliveries (2,729 normal and 2,472 C-section) in 2020-21. This number came down to 2,238 (1,387 normal and 851 C-section) in 2025-26. A large number of people from the urban areas of Kozhikode are dependant on this hospital.

The data also reveal that between 2020-21 and 2022-23, a high number of deliveries were in the C-section category. In 2020-21, of the 5,201 deliveries, 2,472 were C-section; in 2021-22, of the 3,552 deliveries, 1,841 were C-section; and in 2022-23, of the 2,205 deliveries, 1,148 were C-section.

Though there were fewer C-section deliveries between 2023-24 and 2025-26, the percentage remained higher than the ideal population-level rate, between 10% and 15%, as suggested by the World Health Organisation. It is even higher than the national average of 21.5%, claims Satheesh Parannur, chairman of the Kozhikode-based rights organisation, Pouravakasha Samrakshana Samithi, who gathered the data through a Right to Information Act (RTI) query.

Mr. Parannur says that between 2020-21 and 2023-24, the number of total deliveries came down by 61% from 5,201 to 2,019. Though this number slightly went up to 2,238 in 2025-26, it was fewer than what was reported in 2020.

The RTI data show that in-patient admission dropped from 8,315 to 4,683 between 2020-21 and 2023-24. The next year, 5,089 people were admitted. The number again dropped to 4,838 in 2025-26. Meanwhile, a high number of people are seeking outpatient (OP) treatment. In 2020-21, a total of 81,329 people sought OP treatment and in 2024-25, this went up to 1,55,257 and slightly declined to 1,50,305 in 2025-26.

Inquiry sought

Mr. Parannur claims that though a large number of people could be approaching the hospital for medical check-up and medicines, at least some are not willing to get admitted there for deliveries.

He says the Health department should conduct a detailed inquiry into the decline in the number of deliveries and IP admission.