Is the 14% cesarean section rate in Gulu Regional Referral Hospital justifiable?
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Date
2021-03-26
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
. PAMJ Clinical Medicine
Abstract
Worldwide, cesarean section (CS) rates haveincreased tremendously in recent years, especially among high-income countries, raising concernsabout the over-utilization of CS without added benefits, and in the sub-Saharan African region, therate is at its lowest (7.3%). In Uganda, the CS rate stands at 6% and is seen to be higher (11%) among first-order births indicating a high incidence of primary CS. Despite the low rate of CS in Uganda,there are massive gaps in the provision of obstetric
procedure with some women receiving unnecessary surgeries, and the facility-based CS rate is projected to increase to 32% by end of 2021. Notwithstanding the increasing facility rates of CS, Gulu Regional Referral Hospital (GRRH) rate has remained low in the years 2017-2019, with lower levels maternal mortality ratio and fresh stillbirths´ rates compared to the national average. Prolonged labor is one of the commonest indications for primary CS accounting for more than 50% among nulliparous
women and this is linked to progress of labor usually measured using cervical dilatation. World Health Organization (WHO) recommended a change in cervical dilatation from 4cm to 5cm as a threshold for the active phase of the first stage of labor, as away to reduce unnecessary labor intervention including the CS. Lack of standard reporting tools such as the WHO Robson´s ten group classification in Uganda make comparisons of CS rate between/within facility/facilities worrisomely difficult.
Description
Keywords
Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, Caesarean section, Rates, Uganda, WHO
Citation
Pebolo, F. P., Baguma, S., & Auma, A. G. (2021). Is the 14% cesarean section rate in Gulu Regional Referral Hospital justifiable?. PAMJ-Clinical Medicine, 5(74).