Caesarean section rate and its influence factors in China

  Objective   To examine the caesarean section(CS)rate and its influence factors over past decade in China.

  Methods   The univariate and multivariate analyses were used in the study using the national health services survey data.

  Results   The CS rate in China increased rapidly in past decade from 6.7%(95% CI 5.99~7.47)in 1993 to 20.55%(95% CI 19.50~21.60)in 2003.There was a big difference of the CS rate between urban and rural areas.In 2003 the CS rate in urban and rural areas were 39.51%(95% CI 37.19~41.83)and 12.77%(95% CI 11.75~13.79)respectively; The speed of the increase in rural area was two times of that in urban areas.In addition to medical reasone, the main determinant of CS rate was type of urban or rural areas.

  Conclusion   The rapid social economic development in China was main indirect cause of the increased CS rate in past decade.The direct determainants of the increased CS rate needed to be further explored.