Knowledge of Caesarean Section among Antenatal Attendees in a Tertiary Hospital, South-South Nigeria

Abstract

A caesarean section is an effective surgical intervention to deliver a baby when a vaginal delivery is not possible or safe for the mother or the baby. Accessibility to emergency obstetric care services including caesarian section, when indicated, is essential for reducing maternal and neonatal deaths. To assess the knowledge of caesarean section among antenatal attendees in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Edo State. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 409 pregnant women selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data was obtained with interviewer-administered questionnaires and analyzed with IBM SPSS version 25.0, with a statistical significance set at p<0.050. The mean age of respondents studied was 30.6 ± 5.1 years. Majority of the respondents studied 359(87.8%) were aware of the term Caesarean section. Two hundred and ninetynine (73.1%) and 110(26.9%) of the respondents had good and poor knowledge of caesarean section respectively. Level of education [OR = 0.311, 95% CI= 0.139-0.696, p =0.004] of respondents was a significant determinant of knowledge. Majority of the respondents had good knowledge of caesarean section. Health workers should educate pregnant women on the merits of and indications for caesarian section.