Cesarean section on maternal request: the viewpoint of expectant women

Purpose To determine the women’s perception and factors influencing willingness to have cesarean section on maternal request (CSMR) in the absence of medical or obstetric indication. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey of 752 antenatal clinic attendees at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado-Ekiti. Pre-tested questionnaires were used to elicit information on socio-demographic and obstetric variables, awareness and perspective of CSMR and the willingness to request CS without physician’s recommendation. Frequency tables were generated and univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine factors that influenced CSMR using SPSS software version 16.0. Results Forty-eight (6.4 %) of the respondents reported willingness to request CS. The most common motivations for the request were fear of losing the baby during labor, delay in conception and fear of labor pains. Analysis by simple logistic regression and multiple regression showed age, parity and educational status were not significantly related to the decision for CSMR. Conclusion CSMR is an evolving entity in obstetrics practice in the developing countries. Delay in conception, fear of labor pain and loss of baby during labor appear to be strong motivations.