Non-physician surgeons an option in poor nations

When a Caesarean section is needed to save the life of mother and baby ,the lack of doctors in many low and middle-income nations can hazardous. Having non-physician surgeons can lower that risk, a new report states.

In Mozambique and Tanzania almost all C-sections are performed by non-physician clinicians (NPCs). Most of the NPCs have about seven years of practical experience and three years of basic training in nursing. According to obstetrician Caetano Pereira from Mozambique, the NPCs are professional and enjoy a high success rate. In many nations that are lower income, formally trained doctors do not remain in villages and rural hospitals, leaving behind NPCs to do the work. Obstetrician Caetano Pereira from Mozambique studied the cases of 2,000 Caesarean sections, half performed by doctors and half by NCPs. Pereira found that both groups had equal results. Pereira wrote in his thesis that by using NPCs trained in Caesarean sections and other life-saving surgeries, this option could be a solution to the lack of doctors.