Publication:

Attitude of pregnant women in south western Nigeria towards caesarean section as a method of birth

Background Choice of the method of birth is an essential decision for pregnant women and the spouse. This choice is sometimes based on a number of factors. This study assesses knowledge of pregnant women about caesarean section, their attitude towards it and level of acceptance of the methods of birth among women.

Methods This descriptive study was carried out in a government owned hospital in south western Nigeria. Respondents were selected using accidental sampling techniques. Questionnaire whose validity and reliability has been previously ascertained was the instrument used for data collection. Data generated was analysed using SPSS.

Results Results show that 17.1% of the women have good knowledge of caesarean section as a method of birth. Majority of the respondents agreed that vaginal delivery creates more mother-baby relationship than caesarean section. 69.5% of the respondents agreed that caesarean section is preferable to vaginal delivery as the pain in vaginal delivery is usually unpleasant, 66.0%) disagreed that babies born through caesarean section are more healthy than their other counterpart that are born through vaginal delivery. Only 6.9% accept caesarean section.

Conclusions Mothers should therefore be educated on the process involved in caesarean birth and the advantage of this method of birth over other birth method.