Half of all babies born in Chennai in the five years before NFHS-5 were delivered by caesarean section: 50.5%, up from 28.8% in NFHS-4. In private hospitals the share was 62.5%. That is one of the sharpest shifts in Chennai’s district fact sheet from the National Family Health Survey, the government’s main source of health data for mothers and young children.
The same sheet shows clear gains, such as a steep drop in child marriage and fewer stunted children, alongside worrying numbers on anaemia and child weight. Here is what it says, and how much weight each figure can bear.
About the survey
NFHS-5 was carried out in 2019-21 by the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, for the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Tamil Nadu compendium includes a two-page fact sheet for each district. Chennai’s is based on 743 households, 660 women and 101 men. NFHS-4 was conducted in 2015-16. Some Chennai child indicators rest on small numbers of children, so the survey marks them as less reliable; those are noted below.
Births and caesareans
| Indicator, Chennai | NFHS-4 (2015-16) | NFHS-5 (2019-21) |
|---|---|---|
| Institutional births | 100% | 100% |
| Births by caesarean section, all | 28.8% | 50.5% |
| Caesarean births in private facilities | 33.6% | 62.5% |
| Caesarean births in public facilities | 25.5% | 42.5% |
| Children under 5 whose birth was registered | 98.9% | 98.2% |
Caesarean delivery can be lifesaving, and NFHS does not record whether each one was medically needed. But the rise in both public and private hospitals over four years is large. Expectant parents can ask their obstetrician about the reasons for a planned caesarean and about the hospital’s own rates; a second opinion is reasonable when surgery is advised without a clear indication.
Child marriage and family planning
| Indicator, Chennai | NFHS-4 | NFHS-5 |
|---|---|---|
| Women aged 20-24 married before 18 | 12.8% | 1.9% |
| Married women using a modern contraceptive method | 60.1% | 63.6% |
| Women with 10 or more years of schooling | 70.7% | 76.7% |
| Women who are literate | Not reported | 94.8% |
The fall in child marriage, from about one in eight young women to under one in fifty, is the largest change on the sheet. It matches the rise in schooling for women.
How children are growing
| Children under 5, Chennai | NFHS-4 | NFHS-5 |
|---|---|---|
| Stunted (too short for age) | 30.9% | 20.4% |
| Wasted (too thin for height) | 18.1% | 18.3% |
| Underweight | 17.2% | 21.9% |
| Overweight | 17.3% | 9.4% |
| Anaemic (children 6-59 months) | 44.5% | 55.3% |
| Fully vaccinated (12-23 months) | 86.1% (small sample) | 96.6% (small sample) |
Stunting, a measure of long-term undernutrition, fell by about ten percentage points. But wasting stayed high, underweight rose, and more than half of young children were anaemic. The vaccination figures are based on 25 to 49 children in each round, so treat them as indicative only. The exclusive breastfeeding figure was suppressed for Chennai because too few infants were in the sample.
Mothers’ own health
| Women aged 15-49, Chennai | NFHS-4 | NFHS-5 |
|---|---|---|
| Anaemic | 53.9% | 50.3% |
| Overweight or obese (women 15 and over in NFHS-5) | 33.6% | 41.9% |
| Households with health insurance or financing cover | 56.8% | 58.2% |
The sheet also reports adult blood sugar and blood pressure, which are outside the scope of this piece. On daily living, the Chennai sheet records 97.7% of households using clean cooking fuel and 90.4% of the population using an improved toilet, up from 82.7%.
Half of women of childbearing age were anaemic in both rounds. Anaemia during pregnancy raises the risk of complications; women can ask for a haemoglobin test at their nearest Urban Primary Health Centre or antenatal clinic.
How this links to Chennai’s birth numbers
NFHS is a sample; the civil registers are a full count. They point the same way. The NFHS-5 sheet shows the under-15 share of Chennai’s population falling from 22.2% to 18.0%, and the Tamil Nadu CRS portal, as compiled by OpenCity, shows registered births in the city falling from 1,00,177 in 2022 to 84,092 in 2025. The state handbook’s vital statistics chapter shows Chennai’s registered birth rate at 11.1 per 1,000 in 2022, below the state’s 12.2.
District fact sheets from the next round, NFHS-6, were not among the sources available for this article. When they appear, these are the indicators to compare.
Parents with concerns about a child’s growth or anaemia should consult a paediatrician or the nearest UPHC.
Quick answers
What is the C-section rate in Chennai?
50.5% of births in NFHS-5 (2019-21), and 62.5% in private hospitals.
How common is child marriage in Chennai?
1.9% of women aged 20-24 were married before 18 in NFHS-5, down from 12.8% in NFHS-4.
Are Chennai’s children stunted?
20.4% of children under five were stunted in NFHS-5, down from 30.9%.
How many Chennai children are anaemic?
55.3% of children aged 6-59 months, up from 44.5% in NFHS-4.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- Compendium of NFHS-5 (2019-21) State and District Fact Sheets, Tamil Nadu (IIPS and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, via OpenCity)
- Statistical Hand Book of Tamil Nadu 2022-23, Chapter 2: Vital Statistics (Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Tamil Nadu)
- Chennai: Annual Births and Deaths 2018-2025, compiled from the Tamil Nadu CRS portal (OpenCity)
