TY - JOUR AU - Odunvbun., W.O AU - Nwachi , AA AU - Oyeye , LO AU - Ojeogwu , CI PY - 2019/09/01 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Impact of Free Maternity Service on Caesarean Acceptance and Perception in Delta State. South South Nigeria JF - African Journal of Tropical Medicine and Biomedical Research JA - AJTMBR VL - 4 IS - 2 SE - ORIGINAL ARTICLES DO - UR - https://ajtmbr.org.ng/index.php/home/article/view/41 SP - 44-50 AB - <div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><strong>Background.</strong> Although the Increasing rate of Caesarean section has remained a source of concern in different part of the world, it nevertheless remains an important intervention in the reduction of maternal and perinatal mortality during childbirth. Women in developing countries remain averse to caesarean section. The contribution of cost to caesarean section acceptance and perception is not clear.</p><p><strong>Aims.</strong> To determine the impact of cost-free maternity service on caesarean section acceptance and perception in Delta State. Setting and design. A cross-sectional descriptive study.</p><p><strong>Subjects and Method.</strong> A structured questionnaire was administered to a total of 600 consenting antenatal women, in two secondary health facilities in Delta State, Eku Baptist Government Hospital(EBGH) and Central Hospital Warri (CHW).</p><p><strong>Statistical Analysis.</strong> Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 24. With descriptive statistics for frequency, mean and standard deviation. Chi-square and student's t-test for comparison of variables. Level of significance set as p&lt;0.05.</p><p><strong>Results.</strong> There was no significant difference in the proportion of respondents that have had previous Caesarean section in the two centers, 20.6% and 20.9% at Eku Baptist Government hospital (EBGH) and Central Hospital Warri (CHW) respectively. Cesarean section was acceptable to a large number of the respondents, 60.6% and 68.3% at EBGH and CHW respectively. Average of 15.8% respondents will not accept cesarean section for any reason. Postoperative pain was the major reason of respondents' objecting to Caesarean section in both centers, 38% and 20.5% at EBGH and CHW respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion.</strong> This study revealed a high level of caesarean section acceptance among pregnant women under free maternity service policy. The need for well informed and continuous health enlightenment during the antenatal visits is required to overcome the negative perception about CS.</p></div></div></div> ER -