A survey on the effects of husbands education of pregnant women on knowledge, attitude and reducing elective cesarean section

Nowadays, cesarean section rate is increasing in our country and throughout the world. This is while the cesarean section is one of the major surgical procedures which carry serious and rarely fetal risk for mother and child. This study was conducted to determine the effects of health education to husbands of pregnant women in reducing elective cesarean section. This study was a trial study in which 88 pregnant women between 28-32 weeks of pregnancy who referred to the private clinics in Isfahan were randomly assigned into case and control groups. The husbands of the women within case group were educated about cesarean and vaginal delivery. At the beginning of study and four weeks after educational intervention, the knowledge and attitude of three groups (cases, controls, husbands of case group) were determined. The type of delivery was determined by phone call. Educational intervention on husbands caused a significant increase in the knowledge and a positive attitude in mothers within case group towards vaginal delivery. Elective cesarean section in case group was significantly lower than that of the control group (29.5% vs. 50%, P < 0.05). The results of the present study showed that husbands’ education can effectively increase the knowledge and improve the attitude of their wives, and reduce the rate of elective cesarean section.