Abstract

In the last century, caesarean section (C/S) has played a positive role in settling pregnancy complications and reducing the fetal and maternal mortality, but a worrying issue in modern midwifery is the high rate of C/S. According to the World Health Organization, the C/S rate should not exceed 10-15% of all births in any part of the world, but published statistics in many parts of the world, especially in Iran, differed greatly from this ratio and are very higher. C/S is a major operation that has complications such as maternal death, hemorrhage, infection, need for blood transfusion, dense internal adhesions, thromboembolic, urinary retention, bladder injury, and anesthetic complication. Furthermore, an increase in the rate of C/S in a country may cause a high cost to the health system. In recent decades, it seems that there is a general tendency for C/S among both health care givers and providers. Among midwifery personnel and students there are also those who believe that C/S is the most appropriate method of delivery, while others believe that C/S is a very large operation with many complications. It is obvious that awareness of the health care givers’ performance toward choosing a delivery method for their own pregnancies is important for health policies related to decrease C/S rate.