Objective: To investigate the interaction of risks for adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes (stillbirth, predischarge neonatal and maternal mortality) among caesarean section (CS) compared with vaginal deliveries (VD).
Design: Prospective cohort study.
Setting: 10 CS-capable facilities in Busoga Region, East-Central Uganda and Migori County, Kenya.
Participants: Individual birth data were extracted from maternity registers between October 2016 and April 2019. There were a total of 77 242 livebirths and 3734 stillbirths. Overall, 24% of deliveries were by CS with a range of 9%-49% across facilities.
Primary outcome measures: Stillbirth, predischarge neonatal mortality and maternal mortality.
Results: The adjusted ORs for stillbirth, predischarge neonatal mortality and maternal mortality after a CS were 1.3 (95% CI 1.1 to 1.6), 1.9 (95% CI 1.6 to 2.2) and 3.3 (95% CI 2.2 to 4.9), respectively, compared with a VD. The association between maternal mortality and CS was 3.9 (95% CI 2.8 to 5.5) when the delivery was a live birth and 1.7 (95% CI 1.0 to 3.0) when it was a stillbirth. Post hoc analyses showed that mothers who received a CS had a lower risk of stillbirth if they were documented as a referral.
Conclusion: In this context, CS births were at higher risk for worse outcomes compared with VD. Better understanding of CS use and associated adverse outcomes within the mother-baby dyad is necessary to identify opportunities to improve quality of intrapartum care.
Trial registration number: NCT03112018.
Keywords: epidemiology; obstetrics; quality in health care.
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