Journal of Asian and African Studies 1–10 © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0021909615577498 jas.sagepub.com J A A S Correlates of Caesarean Section among Delivery in Health Institutions in India Pralip Kumar Narzary Fakir Mohan University, India Mluleki Tsawe University of the Western Cape, South Africa A Sathiya Susuman University of the Western Cape, South Africa Abstract Aim is to find out the disparities in cesarean sections among institutional deliveries across segments of the society in the study area. The National Family Health Survey data 2005–06 were used. There were 14,808 women who were found to be relevant for this study. Bivariate results show that cesarean section is highest among women older than 40 years, having the highest level of education, holding skilled jobs, from the highest social hierarchy, who delivered in private health institutions, experienced cesarean section in previous delivery, and had pregnancy complications. Performance of cesarean section may be necessary for safety of both mother and infant. Keywords Caesarean section, institutional delivery, maternal health, pregnancy complications Background The safe delivery of a baby is a central issue of maternal and child health. Owing to various rea- sons, not every women (and or baby) are fortunate enough to go through the natural process of vaginal delivery. Sometimes medical intervention is necessary for safe delivery (for the safety of the baby and or mother). Caesarean section is one of such medical interventions. It is the procedure of removing or delivering the baby through open surgery. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests 10–15% caesarean section as the acceptable range (World Health Organization, 1985). Corresponding author: A Sathiya Susuman, Department of Statistics & Population Studies, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, 7530, South Africa. Email: sappunni@uwc.ac.za 577498JAS 0 0 10.1177/0021909615577498Journal of Asian and African StudiesNarzary et al. research-article 2015 Original Article