Caesarean Delivery-Emergency or Elective in India: Evidence from NFHS-III

Caesarean delivery has been increasing world-wide raising the question of the appropriateness of the selection of delivery for the caesarean procedure. This increasing trend of caesarean delivery in India attracts researchers to study its correlates. In this paper an attempt has been made to examine the relationship between risks of caesarean delivery with female’s pre-pregnancy obesity, delivery complications and socio-demographic variables using NFHS-III data for Uttar Pradesh the most populous state of India. The increase in caesarean section cannot be attributed entirely to the rise in institutional deliveries alone because it was observed a strong association between caesarean sections and private sector institutions. The risk of undergoing caesarean section in the private sector is about three times higher than that in the public sector. It is worthwhile mention that the study clearly shows that the risk of caesarean delivery is four times higher in obese women in comparison with non obese women. The younger and educated women are more likely to prefer caesarean delivery as compared to their counterparts. It might be possible that this surgical procedure is being misused for profit purposes in the private sector or being deliberate choice of female to avoid labor pain.