Trend of Caesarean Section in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Prospective Observational Study from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

Abstract

1Assistant Professor, 3Senior Resident, 4Internee, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, ANIIMS, Port Blair, India. 2Associate Professor, Department of General Medicine, ANIIMS, Port Blair, India. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2454.8642.201910 Background: Caesarean Section (CS) is one of the most commonly performed operations in obstetrics. The rate of caesarean section is increasing throughout the world and not surprisingly also in India. Caesarean sections are done due to various reasons, and often used liberally. We conducted this study to assess the rate of Caesarean deliveries and its indications in a tertiary care hospital in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Methods: This was a prospective observational study where data was collected for all Caesarean sections performed from January 2018 to December 2018 and the data was statistically analysed by MS Excel and frequency distribution tables. Result: There were total 2646 deliveries over the study period of one year with caesarean rate of 38.51%. 73.61% were emergency CS. Most common indications of CS were post caesarean pregnancy (24.73%) and fetal distress (15.11%) and more than 75% were primary caesarean section. Conclusion: A high CS rate with a high percentage of primary caesarean section was observed in this study. Indications included mainly post caesarean pregnancies, fetal distress and non-reassuring cardiotocography, portraying the low threshold for CS. Standard national protocols and practice of evidence-based obstetrics along with maintenance of institutional audits are needed to decrease the escalating CS rate.