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      Caesarean section without medical indications is associated with an increased risk of adverse short-term maternal outcomes: the 2004-2008 WHO Global Survey on Maternal and Perinatal Health

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          Abstract

          Background

          There is worldwide debate about the appropriateness of caesarean sections performed without medical indications. In this analysis, we aim to further investigate the relationship between caesarean section without medical indication and severe maternal outcomes.

          Methods

          This is a multicountry, facility-based survey that used a stratified multistage cluster sampling design to obtain a sample of countries and health institutions worldwide. A total of 24 countries and 373 health facilities participated in this study. Data collection took place during 2004 and 2005 in Africa and the Americas and during 2007 and 2008 in Asia. All women giving birth at the facility during the study period were included and had their medical records reviewed before discharge from the hospital. Univariate and multilevel analysis were performed to study the association between each group's mode of delivery and the severe maternal and perinatal outcome.

          Results

          A total of 286,565 deliveries were analysed. The overall caesarean section rate was 25.7% and a total of 1.0 percent of all deliveries were caesarean sections without medical indications, either due to maternal request or in the absence of other recorded indications. Compared to spontaneous vaginal delivery, all other modes of delivery presented an association with the increased risk of death, admission to ICU, blood transfusion and hysterectomy, including antepartum caesarean section without medical indications (Adjusted Odds Ratio (Adj OR), 5.93, 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI), 3.88 to 9.05) and intrapartum caesarean section without medical indications (Adj OR, 14.29, 95% CI, 10.91 to 18.72). In addition, this association is stronger in Africa, compared to Asia and Latin America.

          Conclusions

          Caesarean sections were associated with an intrinsic risk of increased severe maternal outcomes. We conclude that caesarean sections should be performed when a clear benefit is anticipated, a benefit that might compensate for the higher costs and additional risks associated with this operation.

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          Most cited references15

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          Maternal and neonatal individual risks and benefits associated with caesarean delivery: multicentre prospective study.

          Jose Villar, Guillermo Carroli, Nelly Zavaleta … (2007)
          To assess the risks and benefits associated with caesarean delivery compared with vaginal delivery. Prospective cohort study within the 2005 WHO global survey on maternal and perinatal health. 410 health facilities in 24 areas in eight randomly selected Latin American countries; 123 were randomly selected and 120 participated and provided data 106,546 deliveries reported during the three month study period, with data available for 97,095 (91% coverage). Maternal, fetal, and neonatal morbidity and mortality associated with intrapartum or elective caesarean delivery, adjusted for clinical, demographic, pregnancy, and institutional characteristics. Women undergoing caesarean delivery had an increased risk of severe maternal morbidity compared with women undergoing vaginal delivery (odds ratio 2.0 (95% confidence interval 1.6 to 2.5) for intrapartum caesarean and 2.3 (1.7 to 3.1) for elective caesarean). The risk of antibiotic treatment after delivery for women having either type of caesarean was five times that of women having vaginal deliveries. With cephalic presentation, there was a trend towards a reduced odds ratio for fetal death with elective caesarean, after adjustment for possible confounding variables and gestational age (0.7, 0.4 to 1.0). With breech presentation, caesarean delivery had a large protective effect for fetal death. With cephalic presentation, however, independent of possible confounding variables and gestational age, intrapartum and elective caesarean increased the risk for a stay of seven or more days in neonatal intensive care (2.1 (1.8 to 2.6) and 1.9 (1.6 to 2.3), respectively) and the risk of neonatal mortality up to hospital discharge (1.7 (1.3 to 2.2) and 1.9 (1.5 to 2.6), respectively), which remained higher even after exclusion of all caesarean deliveries for fetal distress. Such increased risk was not seen for breech presentation. Lack of labour was a risk factor for a stay of seven or more days in neonatal intensive care and neonatal mortality up to hospital discharge for babies delivered by elective caesarean delivery, but rupturing of membranes may be protective. Caesarean delivery independently reduces overall risk in breech presentations and risk of intrapartum fetal death in cephalic presentations but increases the risk of severe maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in cephalic presentations.
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            Method of delivery and pregnancy outcomes in Asia: the WHO global survey on maternal and perinatal health 2007-08.

            Pisake Lumbiganon, Malinee Laopaiboon, A Gülmezoglu … (2010)
            There has been concern about rising rates of caesarean section worldwide. This Article reports the third phase of the WHO global survey, which aimed to estimate the rate of different methods of delivery and to examine the relation between method of delivery and maternal and perinatal outcomes in selected facilities in Africa and Latin America in 2004-05, and in Asia in 2007-08. Nine countries participated in the Asia global survey: Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. In each country, the capital city and two other regions or provinces were randomly selected. We studied all women admitted for delivery during 3 months in institutions with 6000 or fewer expected deliveries per year and during 2 months in those with more than 6000 deliveries. We gathered data for institutions to obtain a detailed description of the health facility and its resources for obstetric care. We obtained data from women's medical records to summarise obstetric and perinatal events. We obtained data for 109 101 of 112 152 deliveries reported in 122 recruited facilities (97% coverage), and analysed 107 950 deliveries. The overall rate of caesarean section was 27.3% (n=29 428) and of operative vaginal delivery was 3.2% (n=3465). Risk of maternal mortality and morbidity index (at least one of: maternal mortality, admission to intensive care unit [ICU], blood transfusion, hysterectomy, or internal iliac artery ligation) was increased for operative vaginal delivery (adjusted odds ratio 2.1, 95% CI 1.7-2.6) and all types of caesarean section (antepartum without indication 2.7, 1.4-5.5; antepartum with indication 10.6, 9.3-12.0; intrapartum without indication 14.2, 9.8-20.7; intrapartum with indication 14.5, 13.2-16.0). For breech presentation, caesarean section, either antepartum (0.2, 0.1-0.3) or intrapartum (0.3, 0.2-0.4), was associated with improved perinatal outcomes, but also with increased risk of stay in neonatal ICU (2.0, 1.1-3.6; and 2.1, 1.2-3.7, respectively). To improve maternal and perinatal outcomes, caesarean section should be done only when there is a medical indication. US Agency for International Development (USAID); UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), WHO, Switzerland; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan; Ministry of Public Health, China; and Indian Council of Medical Research. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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              Consumer demand for caesarean sections in Brazil: informed decision making, patient choice, or social inequality? A population based birth cohort study linking ethnographic and epidemiological methods.

              Cesar Victora, Fernando Barros, Dominique Béhague (2002)
              To investigate why some women prefer caesarean sections and how decisions to medicalise birthing are influenced by patients, doctors, and the sociomedical environment. Population based birth cohort study, using ethnographic and epidemiological methods. Epidemiological study: women living in the urban area of Pelotas, Brazil who gave birth in hospital during the study. Ethnographic study: subsample of 80 women selected at random from the birth cohort. Nineteen medical staff were interviewed. 5304 women who gave birth in any of the city's hospitals in 1993. Birth by caesarean section or vaginal delivery. In both samples women from families with higher incomes and higher levels of education had caesarean sections more often than other women. Many lower to middle class women sought caesarean sections to avoid what they considered poor quality care and medical neglect, resulting from social prejudice. These women used medicalised prenatal and birthing health care to increase their chance of acquiring a caesarean section, particularly if they had social power in the home. Both social power and women's behaviour towards seeking medicalised health care remained significantly associated with type of birth after controlling for family income and maternal education. Fear of substandard care is behind many poor women's preferences for a caesarean section. Variables pertaining to women's role in the process of redefining and negotiating medical risks were much stronger correlates of caesarean section rates than income or education. The unequal distribution of medical technology has altered concepts of good and normal birthing. Arguments supporting interventionist birthing for all on the basis of equal access to health care must be reviewed.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Med
                Title: BMC Medicine
                Publisher: BioMed Central
                ISSN (Electronic): 1741-7015
                Publication date Collection: 2010
                Publication date (Electronic): 10 November 2010
                Volume: 8
                Page: 71
                Affiliations
                [1 ]UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
                [2 ]Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
                [3 ]Department of Biostatistics and Demography, Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
                [4 ]Centro Rosarino de Estudios Perinatales Rosario, Argentina
                [5 ]Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
                [6 ]Maternal and Child Health Department, Public Health School, Peking University, Beijing, China
                Article
                Publisher ID: 1741-7015-8-71
                DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-8-71
                PMC ID: 2993644
                PubMed ID: 21067593
                SO-VID: 8b9a6d82-6a67-4a7b-be11-4672dd318483
                Copyright © Copyright ©2010 Souza et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
                License:

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                Date received : 7 October 2010
                Date accepted : 10 November 2010
                Categories
                Subject: Research Article

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Medicine
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Medicine

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