A cross-sectional study on factors influencing caesarean section rates in a tertiary care hospital, Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh)

Abstract

Background: Worldwide rise in caesarean delivery (CD) rates during the last three decades has been a cause of alarm. The rates of such delivery have increased dramatically in recent years from 12% in 1990 to 24% in 2008. Tertiary care centers have high caesarean section rates but areas where health care facilities are not available may have maternal deaths due to lack of C-section facilities. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of caesarean section, to assess the association between caesarean section with socio-demographic determinants and maternal risk factors.Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted during January 2016 to April 2016. A total of 288 pregnant females admitted in obstetric ward of medical college Jhansi formed the study population, a simple random sampling technique was adopted for the study. A study tool was pre-designed and pre-tested interview schedule. The data collected was entered in MS excel and analyzed using SPSS 24 version.Results: The study showed that 73 (25.34%) of our study participants have delivered by caesarean section. Caesarean section was significantly associated with literacy, place of residence, education status, socio-economic status and occupation of the husband. Caesarean section was significantly associated with maternal risk factors like obesity, pregnancy induced hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus and polyhydromnios.Conclusions: Present study found a high caesarean section rate as compared to the WHO standard. Utilization of antenatal care, better doctor patient communication, doctor’s commitment to reduce the rate of LSCS, may help to reduce the increasing rate of caesarean delivery.