Cesarean section in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria, Nigeria: A five‑year appraisal

Objective: In 1985, the WHO recommended an optimum Cesarean section (CS) rate of 10–15% and stated that there was no justification for any region to have higher rates. The global increase in CS rate is causing concern and it is a major public health issue. Our objective is to appraise the CS intervention, observe trend, and proffer solutions.Materials and Methods: All relevant clinical data from the patients delivery records in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) Zaria over the period 2010–2014 were pooled and used to analyze the clinical information.Results: There were a total of 9,388 deliveries during the period out of which 2,254 were CS, giving a rate of 24.5%. The mean age and parity of the study groups were 30.6 ± 4.8 years and 1.9 ± 1.6, respectively. A total of 288 (12%) of them were done as elective. Most of the CS was done due to previous scar, pre‑eclamsia/eclampsia. The maternal mortality rate (MMR) during this period was 870/100000 live births, the CS‑related mortality was 339/100,000, and the perinatal mortality (PM) was 43.9/1000 live births.Conclusion: The CS rate, the MMR, and PM are all high and the indications show that alternative interventions can be used to reverse the ugly trend but there is a need for training.Key words: Cesarean section; rate; maternal mortality; perinatal mortality; indications; trend and training