Women's perceptions of caesarean section: reflections from a Turkish teaching hospital

Caesarean section as a contentious topic has attracted attention world-wide and different dimensions of the issue has been investigated. The primary r eason behind these initiatives have been the upsurge of caesarean sections both in the developed and developing world and the realisation that the ope ration may not always contribute positively to the mother's and baby's heal th. By contrast, several studies have demonstrated both the short and long term negative effects. Research has also revealed that factors other than m edical necessity play an important role in the decision to perform a caesar ean section. Turkey, although reliable data does not exist, can be classifi ed among the countries experiencing the caesarean epidemic, at least among highly educated and wealthy mothers. This research, exploring the perceptio ns of mothers in a teaching hospital with a high caesarean rate, is a rare example of its kind in Turkey. The main finding is the dissatisfaction of t he mothers undergoing caesareans during their stay in the hospital. (C) 200 0 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.