MEDICINE Characteristics of Women in the Reproductive Age Delivering by Cesarean Section in Ghana Eugene Kofuor Maafo Darteh 1 Accepted: 16 April 2020 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 Abstract Maternal mortality is a major contributor to the number of deaths that occur among women of childbearing ages (15–49). It is usually higher for women in developing countries than those in developed countries, principally due to ante-partum, intra-partum, and post-partum complications. The major cause of maternal mortality is unsafe delivery. Pregnant women at the delivery point can either deliver per vaginum or by cesarean section, depending on the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy. While many women deliver vaginally, cesarean delivery is appropriate for obstetric emergencies. This study, therefore, seeks to examine the character- istics of women in their reproductive age delivering via elective cesarean section in Ghana. The study used data from the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health Survey (GMHS). A sample of 11,309 women was used for the study. Binary logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between delivery by cesarean section and the independent variables. A little over 12% of the respondents (12.4%) delivered through cesarean section. The results showed significant associations with age, place of residence, religion, level of education, frequency of reading newspaper or magazine, wealth index (richest), and delivery by cesarean section. The study concludes that the overall cesarean section rate was 12.4%. The results show that there is a significant association between delivery by cesarean section and maternal age, wealth index, level of education, place of residence, religion, and frequency of reading newspaper or magazine. However, given the complex role of cesarean section in labor and delivery care in low- and middle-income countries, these factors should be taken into cognizance in considering cesarean delivery among women in Ghana. It is also imperative to understand why high proportions of women seek CS without any maternal and fetal indication. Keywords Women . Reproductive age . Delivering . Cesarean section . Ghana Introduction Maternal mortality represents the primary cause of death among women of childbearing age. It is usually higher for women in developing countries than those in developed coun- tries [1, 2]. The major cause of maternal mortality is delivery complications occasioned by delays in accessing emergency obstetric care [3]. Pregnant women at the delivery point can either deliver naturally per vaginum, by assisted vagina deliv- ery, or by cesarean section, depending on the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy [4]. Cesarean section is the surgical delivery of the fetus through an abdominal and uterine incision [5]. It is one of the most common and major obstetric surgeries in the world and has helped improve obstetric care [6]. Indications for elective cesarean section may include conditions such as dysphagia [7]. Cesarean section has proven to be a necessary healthcare service for the mother. The role of cesarean section in labor and delivery care in low- and middle-income countries is complex. In many low-resource settings, it is not used adequately in the pop- ulations that need it most; however, it is overused by those who do not really need it. This is because such settings lack clear methods to ensure that there is universal access to cesarean section [8]. The incidence of cesarean section has shown a consis- tent global increase [7, 9]. Proportion of births through CS increased from around 2 in 10 in 1998 to more than 3 in 10 in 2007 in Australia [10], with similar patterns observed in the USA between 1996 and 2006 [ 11 ]. Reports from UK, indicate that it increased by approxi- mately 50% from 1995 to 1996 to nearly 25% of all births from 2007 to 2008 [12]. Overall, estimates show that 18.6% of all births occur with cesarean section, ranging from 6 to 27.2% in less developed regions [13–17]. * Eugene Kofuor Maafo Darteh edarteh@ucc.edu.gh 1 Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-020-00289-x