Incidence of maternal morbidity and mortality following cesarean delivery

Abstract EN

Background: Cesarean section (CS) is a mode of delivery usually performed when the vaginal delivery fails or the patient had more than one previous CS because of risk to the mother or the baby.

Occasionally, CS is performed upon maternal request.

World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that CS should only be performed due to medical need or lifesaving.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence rate, performance, and complications of cesarean sections.

Design: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Setting: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, King Hamad University Hospital, Bahrain).

Method: One thousand five hundred-one patients who underwent cesarean deliveries, either elective or emergency, during the study period from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2017 were reviewed through Hope system and Labor and Delivery documents.

Cases with postnatal complications related to cesarean deliveries were documented in an excel sheet.

Patients who had complications unrelated to CS were excluded.

Result: One thousand five hundred one cesarean deliveries were reviewed; the incidence of cesarean deliveries increased from 729 (48.5%) in 2016 to 772 (51.4%) in 2017.

The overall postoperative complications decreased from 81 (5.4%) in 2016 to 53 (3.5%) in 2017.

The most common complication was surgical site infection which improved significantly through the study period from 45 (2.9%) in 2016 to 23 (71.5%) in 2017.

Most cases were performed as emergency cesarean sections.

Conclusion: Although the cesarean section delivery rates have increased in our department and worldwide, we have managed to decrease postoperative complications and no mortalities.