Introduction: A growing number of children around the world are being born by surgical delivery, or cesarean section. Concerns about the steep increase in cesarean deliveries have been raised because of the possibility that surgical delivery is associated with greater maternal and infant mortality and morbidity than vaginal delivery. The purpose of the present study was to determine Prevalence of cesarean section and related causes of in women referring to Vali-e-Asr and tamin -e-ejtemaee hospitals in Birjand, 2010.
Methods: In this descriptive study, which cross-sectionally was carried out, 293 pregnant women referring to Vali-e-Asr and tamin -e-ejtemaee hospitals were studied. A questionnaire in 2 portions was filled out at mothers’ bed, in delivery room, operation room, and women's ward. The obtained data was analyzed by SPSS software, using chi square test at the significant level P<0/05.
Results: From 293 pregnant women in this study 147 (50.2%) had a normal delivery and 146 (49.8%) by Cesarean. The most common causes for caesarean were cephalopelvic disproportion (22.4%), malpresentation (21.7%) and Failure to progress (16.8%).
Conclusions: In this study, the prevalence of caesarean section is more than the WHO standard. In order decrease the number of unnecessary cesarean, teaching the young pregnant mothers about the disadvantages of cesarean is necessary.