What is ‘Caesarean Muhurat’—and why is it driving India’s C

Synopsis: India’s caesarean rate has soared to 21.5% nationally and over 60% in states like Telangana, far exceeding WHO’s 10-15% ideal, leading to 1.8 million unnecessary surgeries yearly. Driven by fear, trauma, and a thriving “caesarean muhurat” industry, anxious parents pay astrologers for auspicious surgical timings while doctors and hospitals readily accommodate, deepening the paradox of “too much, too soon” for the privileged and “too little, too late” for the marginalised.

A man from Banjara Hills in Hyderabad lost his mother to cancer six months before his wife prepared to deliver their first child.

The grief lingered and fear settled deeper. When doctors mentioned the possibility of complications, the couple did not seek therapy or counselling. They called a spiritual consulta