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Article
Preference of Ghanaian Women for Vaginal or Caesarean Delivery Postpartum
Ghana Medical Journal (2009)
  • Hilary Schwandt, Western Washington University
  • Kwabena A. Danso
  • C. A. Turpin
  • Joseph Darkwa Seffah
  • A. Samba
  • Michelle J. Hindin
Abstract

Caesarean section rates vary all over the world. Researchers have examined whether non-medical indications for caesarean section, such as obstetrician preference1 maternal request2 and maternal preference3–8 explain the regional variation. To date, such research has focused mainly on countries with high national rates of caesarean deliveries such as: Brazil (20–50%),3 Singapore (20%),4 South Korea (40%),5 Italy (30%),6 United Kingdom (20%),7 and Australia (20–30%).8 Overall, these studies came to a consistent conclusion that the vast majority of women in high caesarean section rate countries prefer vaginal delivery. There has been little research to determine the preferred mode of delivery in countries with low prevalence of caesarean section. In Ghana, only 4% of live births are by caesarean delivery, a figure that has not changed significantly since 1998.9 The main objective of this study is to determine the preferred mode of delivery among caesarean delivered women in Ghana. Secondly, it is to discover their opinions regarding caesarean delivery.

Keywords
  • Ghanaian women,
  • Preference,
  • Caesarean delivery,
  • Vaginal delivery
Publication Date
March, 2009
Citation Information
Hilary Schwandt, Kwabena A. Danso, C. A. Turpin, Joseph Darkwa Seffah, et al.. "Preference of Ghanaian Women for Vaginal or Caesarean Delivery Postpartum" Ghana Medical Journal Vol. 43 Iss. 1 (2009)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/hilary_schwandt/11/