Trends and Rates of Caesarean Sections: Seven Year Study in Mangalore

Introduction-Caesarean section is among the most commonly performed major surgical procedures worldover. In countries where basic obstetric care is lacking, the rate of caesarean section and maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity bear an inverse relationship to each other. However, if performed without appropriate indication, this operative intervention has a proven derogatory effect on maternal and child health. This study aims to determine the trend of operative childbirth in a Government referral centre in Mangalore, India over the recent past.

Methods-In this retrospective study, anonymous hospital data, collected from hospital delivery registers, between 2007 and 2013 from a Government hospital in Mangalore was analysed.

Results-35,480 deliveries were conducted in the hospital between 2007 -2013. Of these, 11,051 (31.1%) were caesarean sections. Over time, thetotal number of hospital deliveries per year was fairly constant. However, yearly analysis showed a rise in the caesarean section rates from 28.2% in 2007 to 38.7% in 2013. Subgroup analysis between 2007 and 2011 showed that the proportion of elective(28.1%) and emergency(71.9%) caesareans remained more or less constant.

Conclusion-Our study has shown an increase in the caesarean section rate over the years with the proportion of elective and emergency caesarean sections remaining constant. Inspite of obvious limitations of a database study, the inferences obtained provide an incentive to conduct further in depth research. As the rising rates are a clinical and administrative concern, hospital-initiated programmes should be planned and effectively executed to bring about a safe reduction in these rates.