Perinatal mortality and morbidity in caesarean section.

The study was conducted on 350 babies born by caesarean section. There were 29 perinatal deaths among 350 births giving a gross perinatal mortality rate of 8.3 per 1000 live births. Corrected perinatal mortality rate was 7.1%. The stillbirth rate was 2%. It was high for cases of abruptio placentae, transverse lie and cord prolapse. Septicaemia was the commonest cause of perinatal death followed by asphyxia and prematurity. Birth weight played an important role in the survival of babies. There was no foetal loss among babies in weight group of 3501-4000 g. Perinatal morbidity was mainly due to asphyxia, septicaemia, prematurity and cord infection.