Burden of Cesarian Delivery and its Impact on Preschool Children in Bangladesh: Survey in Rajshahi District

Background: Over the last few decades, the rate of cesarian delivery (C-section deliveries) has rapidly increased worldwide, leading to negative health effects for both mothers and children. In Bangladesh, one-third of all births are now by C-section. This study has two main goals: (a) to identify the risk factors for C-section deliveries and (b) to assess how these C-sections affect the health of preschool children in the Rajshahi district, Bangladesh. Method: We used a multistage sampling technique to select samples from nine Upazilas and 233 community clinics in Rajshahi district, covering the entire population. The study included 540 mothers and their infants. We used the Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables and the Chi-square test for categorical variables. Additionally, logistic regression identified the risk factors for C-section delivery. Results: Our study found that the median age of the mothers was 26 years (IQR: 22 to 30). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that mothers who belonged to marginalized groups (p = 0.025), had access to hygienic toilets (p = 0.004), had higher education (p = 0.020), experienced severe headaches with blurred vision (p = 0.048), had edema (p = 0.020), were anemic (p = 0.036), and took extra rest during pregnancy (p < 0.001) were significantly more likely to have a C-section delivery. C-section delivery also affected initial breastfeeding (p < 0.001) and zinc treatment during diarrhea (p = 0.006) for the child. Conclusions: C-section delivery has a great impact on the infant’s initial breastfeeding and zinc treatment during diarrhea. As a result, we recommend increasing public awareness in order to avoid unnecessary C-section in Bangladesh.