ACCEPTANCE OF CESAREAN SECTION AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTE NATAL CARE AT PUBLIC HEALTHG PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTIONS, SIDAMA REGION, HAWASSA CITY. 2023

Abstract

Background: Cesarean Section (CS) is surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen. It is one of the most common surgeries worldwide, accounting for more than 1 in 5 (21%) of all births. Acceptance of cesarean is the agreement with or being belief in cesarean section or it is the act of consenting to it. Although efforts are being made to minimize the CS rate, some women may refuse to accept it if the necessity arises due to a lack of awareness and a bad attitude toward CS. Even if they there were so many who had accepted cesarean section, some women showed total aversion to cesarean section, whatever the indication was. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the acceptance of cesarean se ction and associated factors among pregnant women attending ante natal care at public health institutions in Hawassa city. Methods: Institutional based cross-sectional study was employed among pregnant women attending ante natal care at selected Public Health Institutions in Hawassa city from July 24 to August 25, 2023. Systematic sampling technique was applied to select 422 participants. Kobo Toolbox used to collect data and was exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25software. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied to assess associations between dependent and independent variables. The odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval used to declare the strength of associations between dependent and independent variables. P values less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Finding of this study showed that acceptance of cesarean section among pregnant women was 50.2%. Respondents educational level AOR=6.5, 95% CI (1.5-25), Previous history of cesarean section AOR=7.19, 95%CI (1.94 27.5), place of delivery for the previous delivery AOR=4.15, 95% CI (1.01-11.6) and knowledge of respondents AOR=2.23, 95% CI (1.23-4.14) have showed significant association with acceptance of cesarean section. Conclusion This study showed about half of the respondents accepted a cesarean section. Educational status of women, previous history of cesarean section, place of delivery for the last previous birth, and respondents knowledge of cesarean section were predictor variables for the acceptance of cesarean section.