Abstract
Objective
Cesarean section (C-section) is one of the most common surgical procedures worldwide that may be performed to deliver one or more newborns. The objective of our study was to determine the prevalence of C-section delivery among Saudi women attending different clinics of King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH) who were pregnant, previously pregnant, and had delivered.
Methods
A quantitative observational cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire that has been handed to the participants after explaining the purpose of the study. A total of 524 pregnant and non-pregnant women were enrolled in the study randomly collected from all female clinics of KKUH. The study sample were given a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 21 (IBM SPSS Statistics, Armonk, NY) to analyze the data.
Results
Of the 524 study participants, 32.6% underwent C-section. There was a statistical significance in women aged 23 years old, as well as teachers, in relation to undergoing C-section (p-values = 0.0001 and 0.044, respectively). We concluded that malpresentation is the most common medical indication, with an overall percentage of 25%. There was no evident statistical association between body mass index (BMI), the highest level of education, marital status, Income status, mode of delivery, and the number of normal births or stillbirths.
Conclusion
It was found that the prevalence of Saudi women attending KKUH who underwent C-section was 32.6%. Medical indications to undergo C-sections, in comparison to the non-medical ones, were higher. Malpresentation was the most common medical indication, with an overall percentage of 25%.