Ethnicity and Delivery by Caesarean Section Among Women in Ghana

Abstract Background: There has been growing interest about how ethnic ties predict health outcomes and health-seeking behaviour. The study sought to examine the influence of women’s ethnic identity on CS delivery. Methods: We analysed data from Ghana's 2017 Maternal Health Survey with the help of Stata (version 17). Descriptive analysis was used to estimate the prevalence of CS deliveries. Multivariate analysis was then used to determine the links between ethnicity and other explanatory variables, and CS delivery, using logistic regression. The results were presented in an adjusted odds ratio with its corresponding confidence interval. Results: The overall prevalence of delivery by CS was 12.4%. Gruma women had a lower likelihood of delivery by CS than Akan women. The odds of delivery by CS were 10.18 times higher for women aged 45 – 49 years than those aged 15 – 19 years old. Women with higher education were more likely to opt for CS delivery than those with no education. CS utilization was 2.54 times higher in women with the richest wealth status than those with the poorest wealth status. Also, women who read newspapers at least once a week had higher odds of CS delivery than those who do not read the newspaper or magazine at all. Conclusion: We conclude that researchers need to consider the cultural influences that could confound women’s decisions on CS uptake in places where ethnicity is salient in everyday discourse. In policy-wise, we recommend that in developing intervention programmes to enhance optimum utilization of delivery by CS in Ghana, policymakers need to take a critical look at the cultural milieu of these interventions if they want to achieve the intended purposes, as well as enhance our capacity to achieve SDG 3.2.