Author(s)

Dan Kabonge Kaye^1*, Annettee Nakimuli¹, Othman Kakaire¹, Michael Odongo Osinde², Nelson Kakande³, Scovia Nalugo Mbalinda⁴

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
²Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jinja Regional Hospital, Jinja, Uganda.
³Clinical, Operations and Health Services Research Program, Joint Clinical Research Centre, Kampala, Uganda.
⁴Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Objective: Women’s preferences for the mode of delivery provide clues on their knowledge and perceptions of anticipated risk of childbirth complications. The objective was toinvestigate incongruence between preferred mode of delivery and risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods: Through a cross-sectional study, data were collected from 327 women admitted to Mulago hospital. Data included socio-demographic characteristics, past medical, gynaecological and obstetric history, pregnancy complications, knowledge of pregnancy complications and preferred mode of delivery. The preferred mode of delivery and knowledge of related risks for adverse pregnancy outcomes were compared. Results: The mean age of participants was 24.7 years (±5.9), ranging 14 - 43 years, of whom 41.4% were nulliparous. The preferred mode of delivery was vaginal (84.1%). Incongruence (preference for a mode of delivery that did not correspond to expected or anticipated risks) occurred in 88 (26.9%) of the women, and was associated with having secondary school or higher level of education (OR 2.49, CI 1.52 - 4.08) and history of previous vaginal delivery (OR 3.82, CI 1.94 - 7.49). Conclusion: One in four women had incongruence between preferred mode of delivery and risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes, which called for urgent interventions to improve decision-making about intrapartum care.

Quality of Care, Intrapartum Care, Preference for Mode of Delivery, Decision-Making

Kaye, D. , Nakimuli, A. , Kakaire, O. , Osinde, M. , Kakande, N. and Mbalinda, S. (2014) Incongruence between the Preferred Mode of Delivery and Risk of Childbirth Complications among Antepartum Women in Mulago Hospital, Uganda. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 4, 889-898. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2014.414125.