Determinants of caesarean birth on maternal demand in the Islamic Republic of Iran: a review.

The phenomenon of caesarean birth on demand has gained attention, particularly as a first caesarean birth appears to be strongly predictive of subsequent caesareans. Identification of reasons behind caesarean birth on demand is important for planning effective interventions. Therefore, this review reports the factors involved in the tendency of women to undergo caesarean birth, based on studies in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Several keywords including caesarean delivery, childbirth, causes, maternal request/demand, and patient choice were used to search Medline, PubMed, Ovid, Scientific Information Database, Magiran, Google and Google Scholar. The search was conducted on Persian and English language articles, with no time limitation. Using content analysis, the factors influencing caesarean section were divided into 3 categories: maternal, social and healthcare giver. According to the high prevalence of caesarean section, it is important to design and implement effective programmes and interventions with consideration of the key reasons that lead women to opt for unnecessary caesarean section.