Elective Versus Emergency Caesarean Section: Maternal Complications and Neonatal Outcomes

Background: Emergency Caesarean birth in labour has been associated with an increased chance of infection, bleeding (increasing the need of blood transfusion) and Deep Venous Thrombosis when compared with both vaginal birth and elective caesarean birth Objectives: to compare emergency and elective Caesarean section with regard to intra operative and post operative complications in both mother and child. Results: The emergency CS rate was 1436/2060 (69.70%) and elective CS rate was 624/2060(30.29%). Maternal risk factors like anemeia and pre eclampsia and eclampsia were significantly associated with emergency CS. The major maternal complication in the emergency CS group were scar dehiscences, respiratory complication, febrile morbidity and mortality. The perinatal mortality rate in the emergency CS group is 44.5/1000 total births and 6.32/1000 births in the elective CS group. Conclusion: Emergency CS was associated with significantly more maternal morbidity and mortality and adverse neonatal outcome as compared to elective CS.