Anozie O.B^{1, 2,}, Asiegbu O.G¹, Esike C.U^{1, 2}, Ekwedigwe K.C.^{1, 2}, Agbata A.T.^{1, 2}, Ukaegbe C.I.^{1, 2}, Nwafor J.I.¹, Mba U.E¹

Background: Obstetric delivery is the most frequent cause of hospital admission and the length of stay in hospital after birth varies from one country to another and from one maternity unit to another, depending on economic factors, attitudes to childbirth and traditions in obstetric care. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the trends and determinants of hospital discharge following uncomplicated caesarean section in South-Eastern Nigeria tertiary hospitals. Methodology: It is a cross-sectional questionnaire based study. The study population comprises Gynaecologists and Obstetricians practicing in tertiary hospitals in south eastern Nigeria. The study was carried out among obstetricians-Gynaecologist at the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (FETHA) and those who attended the Eastern sector zonal meeting of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) held on 9^TH September 2017 in Enugu coal-city, Enugu State, Nigeria. Results: The study included 286 participants. The study showed that few (16.7%) of the patients had early discharge and late hospital discharge accounted for 83.3%. The determinants of early hospital discharge were cost of treatment (11.8%), obstetricians personal preferences (10.8%), lack of bed space (4.9%) and patient choice (4.9%). Hospital policy (36.3%) and fear of readmission for maternal or neonatal complications (59.8%) are major reasons for late hospital discharge following uncomplicated caesarean section.

hospital discharge, uncomplicated caeserean-section, obstetricians-gynaecologist, South Eastern Nigeria