A Five-Year Review of Caesarean Sections at the Central Hospital Agbor, Delta State, South South Nigeria.

Abstract

Background: Caesarean section (CS) is the most commonly performed Obstetric surgery. The rate has been observed to vary from centre to centre.

Aim: The aim of the study was to reviewed the CS done at the Central hospital Agbor (CHA) to document the rate, type (emergency or elective) and indications.

Subjects and methods: This was a retrospective study involving the reviewed of Two thousand six hundred and seven (2,607) cases of CS (1229 emergency, 1378 elective) managed at the CHA, Delta state from 1st January, 2019 to 31st December, 2023. Data collected were analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) computer software version 25.0 for windows. Results: The total delivery within the period was 5951 with 2607 delivered through CS giving a CS rate of 43.8%. Elective CS was done for 1378 (52.9%) while Emergency CS was done for 1229 (47.1%). The commonest indications were Repeat CS (17.0%), 2 Previous CS (13.7), Fetal distress (9.4%) and Breech (8.0%). The average age of parturient was 30.38 ± 5.34 years while the minimum and maximum ages were 16 and 50 years respectively. The modal age was 30 years. Among the patients that had CS, 37 (1.42%) were teenagers. Conclusion: The CS rate at CHA is high, with repeat CS being the most prevalent indication. Efforts should be directed towards optimizing the CS rate while maintaining the utmost priority on maternal safety and fetal well-being, leveraging evidence-based practices to minimize unnecessary CS procedures.

Key words: Five-year review, Caesarean section, south-south Nigeria