Global health action
Caesarean section use and inequalities in Bangladesh in regional context: comparisons with West Bengal and Nepal
By Aktar S and Rahman M.
Abstract
Background
Caesarean section (CS) can be life-saving when medically indicated, but its rapid increase raises concerns about overuse and unequal access.
Objective
To characterise CS prevalence, facility patterns, socioeconomic inequality, and associated factors in Bangladesh, and descriptively compare these patterns with Nepal and West Bengal, India.
Methods
We analysed cross-sectional data from the 2022 Bangladesh and Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys and the West Bengal sample of India's National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-2021). Analyses included each woman's most recent live birth in the preceding 5 years. We estimated weighted prevalence, concentration indices, and adjusted prevalence ratios (APRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using survey-weighted modified Poisson regression.