Rising Caesarean Section Rates: an Audit of Caesarean Sections in a Specialist Private Practice

ABSTRACT

Background: Caesarean section (C/S) rates are increasing world wide; rates in the private sector in South Africa are reported to be particularly high. To the best of our knowledge; there has not been a recent audit of caesarean sections from the private health sector in KwaZulu-Natal. The aim of this study was to carry out an audit of C/S in a private practice. Methods: An audit of the patient records over a period of one year was done. No personal identifiers were noted or reported on. All relevant clinical data was pooled and used to analyse clinical information. Results: There were 364 deliveries in the study period and 209 of these were C/S; giving a rate of 60.4. The majority of the C/S were done for a previous C/S; maternal request and HIV status also contributed to the high rate. Conclusion: The high C/S rate in private practice is probably a window of the increased caesarean section rates world wide. This high rate is in keeping with trends in countries such as South America; and is much; much higher than the ideal rate in low-risk obstetric populations of 10.15suggested by the WHO