Abstract:
Background: Emergency cesarean section is a vital part of global maternal health care
and the modern evidence point out that the goal of the World Health Organization for
secure access and quality of care for pregnant women and newborns in Africa has not yet
been achieve. This study was aimed to determine the average DDI for an emergency
caesarean section in pregnant women and its effect on fetal outcomes, at JMC- Jimma,
Southwest Ethiopia.
Method: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted from May first to
October 20 th 2021 at Jimma Medical Center Obs & Gyn department, Jimma University.
A total of 360 clients who were undergone emergency caesarean section were included in
this study. Statistical analysis was performed using electronic Kobo collect structured
questionnaire then transferred in to SPSS version 26. Bivariate and multivariate logistic
regression and crosstabs with a 95% confidence interval was used to determine the
association of decision to delivery time interval with predictor variables and fetal
outcomes.
Results: Only 2.8% of women had a decision to delivery time interval below 30 min. The
mean decision to the delivery time for emergency caesarean section in our study was 40±
SD 5.7 min. This study showed that the time from decision to transfer patient to OT
[AOR=3.85,95%CI=2.7-21.3], time taken to give anesthesia, Skin incision to delivery
[AOR=17.3,95%CI =3.7-80.7], cervical dilatation [AOR=12,95%CI=1.4-105] were
statistically significant predictors for DDI. In our study we found that the predictors for
NICU admission were; type of newborn resuscitation, duration of labor, duration rupture
of membranes and skin incision to delivery were statistically had significant influence on
fetal admission in to NICU P<0.05. DDI influence on fetal outcomes in emergency
caesarean section was not significant with P value; >0.05.
Conclusion: Delivery was not achieved within the recommended time interval in the
majority of emergency caesarean sections. DDI for emergency caesarean section has not
revealed a statistically significant influence on fetal outcomes
