Maternal Obesity and its Association with Cesarean Section

Objective: To determine the frequency of C-section and to compare the frequency of C-section in obese and non-obese patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in department of obstetrics and gynecology, Shaikh Zayed hospital, Rahim Yar Khan. The study duration was 9 months from January-2020 to September-2020. Pregnant females having singleton pregnancy, who were aged 18 to 40 years and gestational age >36 weeks were included. Pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) of all patients was calculated. The patients were followed till their delivery. Association of BMI with C-section was determined. Results: Out of 180 included patients, 50 (27.7%) underwent C-section. Majority of the patients were in age group 25-30 years; 56 (43.1%) in NVD group versus 29 (58%) in C-section group. Among the total 130 patients who underwent NVD, 33 (25.4%) patients were overweight and 14 (10.8%) were obese. While among 50 patients who underwent C-section, 17 (34%) patients were overweight and 28 (54%) patients were obese (p-value <0.0001). Conclusion: There was a strong association of obesity with increased risk of C-section. So the obese women should be managed carefully and should be considered at risk of C-section.