An Apparent Lack in Level of Basic Knowledge of Caesarean Section Delivery among Egyptian Females: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the level of basic knowledge pertaining to cesarean section (CS) delivery and identified factors associated with having an “inadequate basic knowledge” of CS delivery among Egyptian females.Design: Population-based cross-sectional study.Population: Egyptian females aged 15-49 years who responded “yes” to the question “have you ever heard of the practice “caesarean delivery”?”Methods: Five statements of the basic knowledge pertaining to CS delivery that surveyed in the Egyptian Health Issues Survey 2015 (EHIS-2015) were utilized. The basic knowledge pertaining to CS delivery was dichotomized into “inadequate” or “adequate” level.Main outcome measure: Inadequate basic knowledge of CS that defined as scoring a total correct score of ≤ 2 out of a maximum potential score of 5.Results: Of the 9,209 females, 6,063 ever-married females were included with a mean age of 32.95 ± standard deviation (SD) 8.35 years. The mean lifetime parity was 2.85 ± SD 1.69 children. Over a half (53.4%) of females had an inadequate basic knowledge of CS. The inadequate knowledge of CS was concentrated among females who aged ≤ 20 years (56.2%) or >35 years (55.5%), with primary education or below (60.6%), living in rural areas (55.7%), “not at all” were reading newspapers or magazines (54.2%) on a weekly basis, nulliparous females (67.7%), and females with ≥ 3 children (54.4%). After adjusting for potential confounders, females who were “not at all” reading newspapers or magazines on weekly basis, experienced vaginal delivery only (aOR: 2.80, 95% CI, 2.13-3.67), or nulliparous females (aOR: 2.03, 95% CI, 1.79-2.30), were more likely to have the inadequate knowledge of CS.Conclusions: Basic knowledge pertaining to CS delivery among Egyptian females is low. Robust national level programs to promote knowledge on different modes of birth delivery are warranted, particularly in socially deprived populations.