India, Aug. 19 -- India's institutional delivery rate has reached 90.6 per cent, but rising hospital births have not translated into equal access to emergency obstetric care.

Bihar's overall Caesarean section rate of 13.2 per cent hides a deeper crisis in public health facilities, where the rate is just 2.7 per cent.

A very low public-sector C-section rate can indicate that women with obstructed labour, placental complications or other emergencies may not be receiving life-saving surgery in time.

India's maternal health challenge is now split between excess surgical intervention in some private hospitals and inadequate emergency care in under-resourced public facilities.

A striking paradox has emerged in India's maternal healthcare la...