ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of caesarean section in the Islamic Republic of Iran in different provinces and to compare the sociodemographic characteristics of married women with and without caesarean section. Data were analysed from the Iranian Demographic and Health Survey of a representative sample of married women [n = 17 991] who delivered a baby between September 1998 and October 2000. Overall, 35.0% of deliveries were by caesarean section. Women having a caesarean section were older, better educated, married at a later age and with lower parity than those who delivered normally. Provincial variations in rates were significantly correlated with indices of socioeconomic development
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Prevalence , Socioeconomic Factors , Age Factors , Educational Status , ParityABSTRACT
By 1979 50 years of uneven development and modernization by governments prior to the Islamic Revolution had left rural parts of the Islamic Republic of Iran with extremely low economic and health status. This paper reports on the impact of the rural health development programme implemented as an effective and inexpensive way to improve the health of the rural population, especially mothers and children. It describes the system of rural health centres, health houses and community health workers [behvarz] and demonstrates the effectiveness of the programme through declining measures of rural-urban disparities in health indicators. The implications of inexpensive rural health policies for other countries in the region such as Afghanistan and Central Asian countries with a similar sociocultural structure are discussed