Fear of litigation, factor influencing caesarean section delivery- Gynaecologists

Last updated Jun 21, 2021

Medical experts said the fear of litigation and patients’ demand are among the major factors influencing the rising of caesarean section in the world.

President, Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria, Prof. Oluwarotimi Akinola, and the Chairman, Lagos State chapter of SOGON, Dr. Joseph Akinde said that safety concerns also influence the decision to perform CS, rather than aim for vaginal birth.

“A caesarean section can be life-saving, it can also be medically unnecessary.

“The rate of CS is low in Nigeria, our CS rate is probably about 6 percent if not lesser, it is becoming an epidemic in some countries.

“What we have in Nigeria in most cases is facility-based, so each hospital can only talk about what is happening in their hospital, not what is happening in the society,” he said.

Accordingto Akintola, litigation alone is a factor, such that you want everything to go well, you don’t want to take the risk of long labour. So, it’s enough reason to go for CS, just to be on the safe side.

The higher the rate of litigation, the higher the CS rate. Labour is not easy, labour is difficult, so it comes with difficulty sometimes.

The gynaecologist, disclosed that countries with high cases of caesarean section are narrowing the indications of CS.

The Chairman, Lagos State chapter of SOGON, Dr.Akinde said there has been an increasing trend in the rate of CS. The rate is so alarming now that people are beginning to question the rationale behind it.

“People are becoming litigation-conscious and if a woman loses the baby in the course of delivery, she can go to court and medical practitioners are scared of facing litigation.

“We also have a number of women coming up to say they don’t want to go through pain or the hassles of vaginal delivery and they just want to have CS.”

Medical practitioners are making conscious efforts and making reviews to keep the caesarean section rate.

Kamila/Punch