Factors associated with actual mode of delivery among women attending antenatal education at a university hospital in Türkiye: a retrospective observational study

Abstract: To determine the maternal, obstetric and antenatal education-related factors associated with actual mode of delivery among women attending an open-group antenatal education programme.

Design

Retrospective observational study.

Setting

Antenatal outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Ankara, Türkiye. Data were retrospectively obtained from the hospital information management system and delivery records.

Participants

The source population comprised 1418 women who attended antenatal education between July 2024 and July 2025. Delivery outcome data were available for 641 women, who constituted the analytic sample for mode-of-delivery analyses. As of 31 July 2025, when the data were extracted, 530 women had ongoing pregnancies and 247 had passed their estimated delivery date but had no delivery outcome recorded in the hospital system. Because previous caesarean section resulted in quasicomplete separation, the primary multivariable analysis was restricted to 494 women without a history of previous caesarean section. Primary and secondary outcome measures: The primary outcome was actual mode of delivery, categorised as vaginal or caesarean delivery. The main explanatory variables were maternal age, parity, gestational week at first educational attendance, pre-education preferred mode of delivery and attendance at each of the four antenatal education sessions. Caesarean indications were additionally summarised descriptively.