The knowledge and attitudes of Palestinian women towards different childbirth delivery options

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of Palestinian women toward cesarean and vaginal deliveries in public, private and charitable hospitals. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using faceto- face interviews with a sample of 372 pregnant women at 20 and above weeks of pregnancy selected randomly and in proportion to the monthly average antenatal visits to each hospital. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, analysis of variance tests and chisquare tests. Results: The majority of participants 250 (67%) were younger than 29 years old. Most participants 325 (87%) interviewed were aware that pain and muscle weakness are greater after cesarean delivery and as much as 341 (91%) of them knew that a cesarean section (CS) is required if a baby is in the breech position. The results also showed a significant association between women's knowledge scores and educational level, occupation and income across all 3 types of hospital. Furthermore, most women indicated that they thought it was not a women's right to request a cesarean and that the decision to deliver by cesarean should rest with the doctors. Conclusion: Approximately 1 in every 4 births was delivered by cesarean among primiparous women (26%). Despite the high cesarean section rates seen in Palestinian hospitals, women in Ramallah predominantly prefer vaginal delivery.