Cesearean Section Rate and Acceptance of Cesarean Section among Antenatal Clinic Attendees at the Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba, North Central Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Cesarean Section is the delivery of a fetus through a surgical incision made at the lower anterior abdomen and the uterus. It is one of the commonest Obstetrics interventions to save the life of a parturient and/or her baby. It could be elective or emergent. The World Health Organization recommends a Cesarean Section rate not exceeding 15% as a prudent use of this intervention in Obstetrics care. Medically necessary caesarean section saves life. It is the intervention of choice in obstructed labor. It saves the lives of the mother and the baby by preventing rupture of the uterus which can lead to hemorrhage and death. Advances in Medicine and Surgical Techniques have increasingly made caesarean section safer and acceptable to pregnant women. Aim: The aim of the study is to determine the rate and level of acceptance of Caesarean Section among the pregnant women population at our centre. Methods: Using a developed tool, delivery records between October, 2015 and September, 2020 were collected. The information of relevance collected were the ages of the women who delivered the number of deliveries, routes and outcomes within the period of the study. Using convenient sampling, structured questionnaires were administered to 240 consenting consecutive antenatal clinic attendees, seeking information on acceptance of Cesarean Section if offered as a mode of delivery and reasons for not accepting Cesarean Section. These data were inputted into SPSS version 20 and descriptive analysis was done using numbers and percentages. Results: The mean age of the women who delivered in the hospital between October 2015 and September 2020 a five year period was 28± 7 years while the mean age of respondents who responded to the questionnaire on acceptance of Cesarean section was 29 ± 6 years. The C/S at the Kogi State University Teaching Hospital is 25.4%. All the respondents have heard of caesarean sections before. 72% of the respondents heard of caesarean section from their doctors and nurses in the antenatal clinic, while the rest 28% heard of the caesarean section through other media. 52.5% (120) of the respondents are willing to accept caesarean section if offered to them for delivery while 47.5% do not. The correlation between educational status of the respondents and acceptance of caesarean section produced a P value of 0.002 that suggests a significant association between educational status and the acceptance of caesarean section. Conclusion: The caesarean section rate at the Kogi State University Teaching Hospital Anyigba is 25.4% and the acceptance of caesarean section as a mode of delivery among the pregnant women population is 52.5%. Continuous optimization of obstetric protocols for prudent caesarean section, enlightenment, counseling and health education for antenatal clinic attendees is further recommended to dispel the drivers of aversion for caesarean section.