This bizarre photograph shows male footballers being made to hold up a banner in Turkey saying that women should only have natural births.
The stunt comes after the Turkish Ministry of Health criticised C-sections, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that restrictions would be placed on the surgical procedures.
The image, which has caused outrage, shows the players from the Sivasspor team holding the banner ahead of a match against Fenerbahce for the Turkish Super League, a match that Sivasspor would go on to lose in Sivas on 13th April.
The banner reads (in Turkish): "What's normal is natural birth."
And under that, one can read: "Unless medically necessary, caesarean section is not natural".
Erdogan declared 2025 the "Year of the Family", claiming that fertility was in danger. He claimed that the obstacle to the decrease in the population growth rate was caesarean birth, and announced that they would take steps to curtail C-section births.
People across the country took to social media to point out the irony of male athletes holding banners encouraging "normal birth".
But the Turkish Ministry of Health has dug in, defending the banner, saying: "Normal birth is a physiological process. Caesarean section is a surgical method that is used only in cases of medical necessity."
Minister of Health Kemal Memisoglu also defended the banner, saying that it was also fine to have it unfurled during the football match as it was also attended by women.
The Ministry of Health also said: "Sixty-one out of every 100 births in Turkey are by caesarean section. The World Health Organization states that this rate should remain between 10-15 per cent for both mother and baby health.
"Scientific research shows that normal birth is associated with a faster recovery process for mothers, lower risk of infection and fewer postpartum complications."