Journal of Preventive Medicine

Introduction: Although caesarean section as a way to save both mother and child has been accepted in an emergency state, but its harmful consequences such as infectious diseases, anesthesia complications, and postpartum depression which could be a threat to the health of the mother, child, family and the community. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with cesarean delivery choice among pregnant women living in the city of Jiroft. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 145 pregnant women attending public and private medical centers in Jiroft. Data collection instrument was a questionnaire designed by the researchers. The validity of the questionnaires was confirmed and the reliability was assessed using Cronbach&rsaquos alpha coefficient which was %84. Data were analyzed by SPSS v.19 and Logistic regression test was used (p-value=0.05). Results: The mean age of the study participants’ was 34 ± 4 years and %75 of the women in the study chose cesarean delivery as the best method. Most participants in the study were pregnant for 5 - 7month (%35.25) and experienced the first pregnancy (%44.1). The majority of them (%52.4) reported friends and family as a source of information for choosing cesarean section as the delivery method. The results of logistic regression showed that the location of prenatal care, abortion, economic status, place of birth, family history of cesarean delivery, and previous cesarean were significantly related with choosing cesarean as the delivery method. Conclusion: A high percentage (%75) of participants in this study had chosen cesarean section as the delivery method. Therefore, authorities should consider it as a public health problem. A way to overcome this problem is increasing the awareness of pregnant women of normal delivery benefits through the education.