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Risk factors for Caesarean sections in Ghana: evidence from the Ghana Maternal Health Survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 November 2020

Emmanuel Banchani Open the ORCID record for Emmanuel Banchani [Opens in a new window]  and
Eric Y. Tenkorang
Emmanuel Banchani*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Memorial University, St John’s, NL, Canada
Eric Y. Tenkorang
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Memorial University, St John’s, NL, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. Email: eb1043@mun.ca
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Abstract

A Caesarean section can be a life-saving intervention in case of pregnancy complications or difficult labour. The prevalence of Caesarean section continues to increase, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, yet the reasons for this remain largely unexplored. This study investigated risk factors contributing to the decision to perform Caesarean sections in Ghana using data from 8645 women aged 15–49 years from the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health Survey. The data were analysed by applying complementary log-log and logit models. The majority of Ghanaian women (about 87%) reported preferring vaginal delivery to Caesarean section. Of those who had undergone a Caesarean section for their most recent birth, about 55% had an elective rather than an emergency section. Women with labour complications (prolonged/obstructed labour) were significantly more likely to have a Caesarean section (OR=4.09, 95% CI=3.10–5.41). Furthermore, women with maternal complications, particularly prolonged/obstructed labour, were less likely to have an elective Caesarean section than those who had no such complications (OR=0.25, 95% CI=0.14–0.46). Compared with poorer women, wealthy women were significantly more likely to have an elective Caesarean section (OR=1.84, 95% CI=1.08–3.14). The findings suggest that beyond maternal complications, women’s socioeconomic and demographic characteristics are important risk factors for undergoing a Caesarean section in Ghana.

Keywords

Elective Caesarean sectionGhanaProlonged/obstructed labour
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , January 2022 , pp. 21 - 38
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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