Caesarean section and increased neonatal mortality risk in meta-analysis of 33 sub-Saharan Africa Demographic and Health Surveys.

AIM To examine the factors associated with the risk of neonatal mortality following caesarean births at country-level in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS We used meta-analytic procedure to synthesize the results of most recent nationally representative cross-sectional Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) datasets for 33 sub-Saharan Africa countries conducted between 2010 and 2018. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed for all countries. RESULTS The overall caesarean section (CS) rate was 4.9%, neonatal mortality was 2.8% and Post-CS neonatal mortality was 4.3%. The rates of CS were generally low and only five countries had CS rates at or above 10%. The overall pooled result showed a statistically significant increase in the odds of neonatal mortality after a caesarean section (CS) OR 1.7 (95% CI 1.53 -1.89; I2  = 39.3%, p < 0.012); such that children delivered via CS were 70% more likely not to survive beyond the first 30 days. Geographical variations existed in the measure of association between caesarean section and neonatal mortality. CONCLUSION This paper has provided evidence on the low rates of CS and the associated neonatal mortality risk compared to normal deliveries in sub-Saharan Africa.