Association between primiparas’ willingness of a second child and cesarean section

Objective To explore the impact of primiparas’ intention to have a second child on their delivery mode.

Methods During March 1st， 2019 and November 30th， 2020， the enrolled pregnant women were investigated by questionnaires at two points， first trimester pregnancy registration and post-natal visit at maternal and child healthcare community centers of Xuhui District. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of willingness of a second birth and their mode of delivery.

Results 2 000 questionnaires were distributed and 1 664 valid questionnaires were analyzed. The overall cesarean delivery rate in nulliparous women was 40.08% （667/1 664）， with 8.95% （149/1 664） of non-medical indication cesarean delivery. Multiple Logistic regression analysis of overall delivery rate showed that age， willingness to have more children in the future， plan of vaginal delivery at first questionnaire， and complications during pregnancy were associated with overall cesarean delivery rate， and women without the willingness to have more children in the future were more likely to undergo cesarean delivery （OR=1.350， 95%CI： 1.052-1.732）. Age， whether to have a second child in the future， plan of vaginal delivery at first questionnaire， and complications during pregnancy were all factors associated with increased risks of non-medical indicated cesarean delivery， while women with no plan of a second child in the future had nearly 2 times of risk of non-medical indicated cesarean delivery （OR=1.909， 95%CI： 1.117-3.262）.

Conclusion The mode of delivery is affected by many factors， among which willingness to have more children in the future is an important factor associated with increased risks of overall cesarean delivery and non-medical indicated cesarean delivery.