Table 1. Background characteristics of the study population based on women’s exit interviews.
| Sociodemographic Characteristics | Ghana (N = 659) | Dominican Republic (N = 1,531) | p-Valuea |
| Age, years | 0.0001 | ||
| 15–19 | 16 (2.4) | 416 (27.2) | |
| 20–24 | 89 (13.5) | 501 (32.7) | |
| 25–29 | 176 (26.7) | 332 (21.7) | |
| 30–34 | 219 (33.2) | 188 (12.3) | |
| 35–39 | 127 (19.3) | 76 (4.9) | |
| 40–49 | 32 (4.9) | 18 (1.2) | |
| Education | 0.0001 | ||
| None | 48 (7.3) | 26 (1.7) | |
| Primary | 87 (13.2) | 402 (26.3) | |
| Secondary | 433 (65.7) | 861 (56.2) | |
| Tertiary | 91 (13.8) | 242 (15.8) | |
| Religion | 0.0001 | ||
| Christian | 566 (85.9) | 1,065 (69.6) | |
| Muslim | 92 (13.9) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Other | 1 (0.2) | 22 (1.4) | |
| No religion | 0 (0.0) | 444 (29.0) | |
| Marital Status | 0.692 | ||
| Married/cohabitation | 556 (84.4) | 1,290 (84.3) | |
| Single | 100 (15.1) | 229 (15.0) | |
| Divorced/separated | 3 (0.5) | 12 (0.7) | |
| Residence | 0.0001 | ||
| Urban | 520 (78.9) | 1,396 (91.2) | |
| Rural | 136 (20.6) | 131 (8.6) | |
| Don’t know | 3 (0.5) | 4 (0.2) | |
| Obstetric history | |||
| Number of pregnancies, mean (SD) | 2.81 (1.59) | 3.01 (1.83) | 0.0158 |
| Number of previous deliveries, mean (SD) | 2.34 (1.39) | 2.12 (1.32) | 0.0003 |
| Previous cesarean section | 0.167 | ||
| No | 426 (64.6) | 942 (61.5) | |
| Yes | 233 (35.4) | 589 (38.5) | |
| Previous pelvic surgery (other than cesarean section) | 0.021 | ||
| No | 628 (95.3) | 1,490 (97.3) | |
| Yes | 31 (4.7) | 41 (2.7) | |
| Current pregnancy | |||
| Gestational age at delivery (weeks) | 0.001 | ||
| <35 | 21 (3.2) | 141 (9.2) | |
| 35–37 | 52 (7.9) | 262 (17.1) | |
| 38–40 | 130 (19.7) | 797 (52.1) | |
| 41–43 | 38 (5.8) | 229 (14.9) | |
| Don’t know | 418 (63.4) | 102 (6.7) | |
| Gestational age in terms | 0.001 | ||
| Preterm | 180 (27.3) | 263 (17.2) | |
| Term | 318 (48.2) | 1,230 (80.3) | |
| Post-term | 125 (19.1) | 13 (0.9) | |
| Don’t know | 36 (5.4) | 25 (1.6) | |
| Multiple pregnancy | 0.24 | ||
| Single | 623 (94.5) | 1,465 (95.7) | |
| Multiple | 36 (5.5) | 66 (4.3) | |
| Delivery plan | 0.001 | ||
| Home | 14 (2.1) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Study hospital | 280 (42.5) | 1,201 (78.5) | |
| Other facility | 365 (55.4) | 330 (21.5) | |
| Referral status | 0.001 | ||
| No | 151 (22.9) | 1,139 (74.4) | |
| Yes | 508 (77.1) | 392 (25.6) | |
| Cesarean-section indicators | |||
| Reporting of cesarean section | n/a | ||
| No | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Yes | 659 (100) | 1,531 (100) | |
| Reporting of time of cesarean section decision | 0.001 | ||
| During antenatal visits | 208 (31.6) | 751 (49.1) | |
| Before labor | 169 (25.6) | 165 (10.8) | |
| After onset of labor | 276 (41.9) | 597 (38.9) | |
| Don’t know | 6 (0.9) | 18 (1.2) | |
| Reporting of time of cesarean section | 0.001 | ||
| Spontaneous labor | 328 (49.8) | 1,047 (68.4) | |
| Induced labor | 35 (5.3) | 5 (0.33) | |
| Cesarean section before labor | 278 (42.2) | 359 (23.4) | |
| Don’t know | 18 (2.7) | 120 (7.8) | |
| Communication | |||
| Cesarean section decision maker | 0.001 | ||
| The doctor | 591 (89.7) | 1,510 (98.6) | |
| The woman | 35 (5.3) | 10 (0.6) | |
| Other | 6 (0.9) | 0 (0) | |
| Don’t know | 27 (4.1) | 11 (0.7) | |
| Cesarean section information | 0.001 | ||
| Doctor | 571 (86.6) | 1,393 (96.8) | |
| Nurse/midwife | 46 (7.0) | 10 (0.7) | |
| No one | 38 (5.8) | 33 (2.3) | |
| Other | 4 (0.6) | 3 (0.2) |
a
Pearson’s Chi-square tests and/or Yates correction for continuity (when necessary) are used for bivariate and categorical variables. T-tests are used for continuous variables.