15. A retrospective study of birth weight and caesarean delivery in south-east Nigeria

The objective of this study is to determine the incidence of low birth weight and the outcome of the practice of caesarean section in four private hospitals in south-east Nigeria. Data was retrieved from case records of patients who underwent caesarean section from January 2007 to December 2008 in four private hospitals in south-east Nigeria. There were 2192 singleton deliveries with respect to sex of child, birth weight of child and mode of delivery, out of which 386 (17.61%) were caesarean sections. The incidence of normal weight of children born in south-east Nigeria weighing between 2.5kg and 4.0kg is 86.18%, while low birth weight which is below 2.5kg, is 5.75%. Low birth weight is higher in females (57.94%) as compared to males (42.06%). Mean birth weight is however higher in males than in females (3.46 ± 0.60 and 3.27 ± 0.61 respectively). Incidence of caesarean deliveries is greater in babies weighing 4.1kg and above (36.16%) than in low birth weight babies (16.67%). The result of this work shows that mean birth weight in south-east Nigeria is high compared to result from other region of the country. The incidence of caesarean section is on the increase and be encouraged in cases in which normal birth cannot be achieved.