Caesarean section in a primary health facility in Ghana: Clinical indications and feto-maternal outcomes

There is great concern about the increasing rise in the rate of caesarean section in both developed and developing countries. This study was to ascertain the prevalence and compare outcomes of elective and emergency caesarean sections among women who deliver at the University of Cape Coast Hospital, Ghana. This retrospective study reviewed records of 645 women who delivered through caesarean sections during the period of January 2014 and December 2015. The prevalence of caesarean section was 26.9%. There was a significantly higher rate of adverse fetal outcomes (P=0.016) among babies born through emergency caesarean section. There were 12 (1.9%) women who had caesarean section done based on maternal request. The caesarean section rate found in this study was high. The lack of availability of technology for diagnosing fetal distress found in this study could possibly lead to over diagnosis of fetal distress. Thus availability of such diagnostic technology could reduce the high caesarean section rate. The high numbers of women requesting caesarean section without medical indication should be investigated and the motivation factors identified so as to curb the practice.