Dr. Opoku Fofie
Deputy Director, Reproductive Child Health (RCH) of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Chris Opoku Fofie has bemoaned the high rate of caesarean sections performed for pregnant women in various health facilities as compaired vaginal births.
According to him, the surgical delivery of babies through caesarean section over the years has seen some increase.
“We started somewhere around 5% in the rural communities but as we speak now caesarean section is at 21% rate nationwide,” he said.
The 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) of the Ghana Statistical Service revealed that one in five (21%) live births in the two years preceding the survey was delivered via caesarean section (C-section). C-section deliveries are more common in urban areas relative to rural areas recording a rate of 27% and 15% respectively.
Caesarean sections are performed for pregnant women who may have problems with the placenta such as a low-lying placenta (placenta praevia).
“As we speak, from our facility data, the Greater Accra region for instance has a C-section rate of about 29% as of last year. When you zoom into specific facilities hospitals are doing up to 45% rate of the section which is alarming” Dr. Opoku Fofie lamented, urging that health facilities must perform the caesarean section to pregnant women when necessary to reduce the rate.
Dr. Opoku Fofie made this known at the dissemination of the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey Report: Maternal and Child Health and Malaria yesterday in Accra.
The report also indicates that under assistance during delivery, 88% of births were delivered by a skilled provider, with nurses and midwives contributing 69%, and doctors 19%.
Also, skill delivery assistance according to region disparities had the Upper East region leding the chat with 98%, followed by Volta, Greater Accra and Ashanti region recording 94% each.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke