Year: 2026 | Month: June | Volume: 16 | Issue: 6 | Pages: 158-165
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20260618
Knowledge and Perception about Anaesthesia among Patients Undergoing Caesarean Section in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Western Uttar Pradesh: A Questionnaire-Based Prospective Study
Aparna Patel1, Ruchi Singh2, Vinay Kumar2, Nazia Nazir3, Samiksha Khanuja3, Savita Gupta4, Anupriya Saxena4, Ritu Sharma5
1MBBS student, GIMS, Greater Noida
2Assistant Professor, Department of Anaesthesia, GIMS, Greater Noida
3Professor, Department of Anaesthesia, GIMS, Greater Noida
4Associate Professor, Department of Anaesthesia, GIMS, Greater Noida
5Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, GIMS, Greater Noida
Corresponding Author: Dr. Ruchi Singh
ABSTRACT
Background and Aims: The rate of caesarean sections has risen from 17.2% to 21.5% between 2016 and 2021. Still, the knowledge and perception about anaesthetic modalities remain poorly studied in the setting of western Uttar Pradesh. Objectives of the study included to study the baseline knowledge and perception about anesthesia for caesarean section (CS) among primigravida patients scheduled for elective CS. We also evaluated the impact of structured pre-operative anaesthesia education on patient preferences.
Methods: A prospective questionnaire-based study was conducted at GIMS, Greater Noida, over two months (January–February 2025). Seventy primigravida women scheduled for elective CS under spinal anaesthesia were enrolled in the study. A pre-validated questionnaire (adapted from Bacha et al., 2019) was administered pre- and post-operatively to these patients. Chi-square and McNemar tests were applied for statistical analysis.
Results: Mean age of the participants of the study was 24.2 ± 3.1 years; 68.6% had matriculation-level or lower education while 77.1% were homemakers. While only 37.1% only reported to have a prior knowledge of anaesthesia; friends/relatives were the most common source of information (38.5%). Knowledge of spinal anaesthesia (SA) advantages over GA was reported only by 25.7% participants. 40% of the participants preferred to leave the decision of anesthesia type to the doctor preoperatively, while 40.0% wanted to avoid SA. Most commonly, the participants reported the fear of backache (42.9%). Post-operatively, however, only 14.3% still wished to avoid SA. This was a statistically significant reduction (McNemar test, p < 0.001). Anesthesia knowledge was found in 31.4% and this was seen mostly in patients with higher education (p = 0.006).
Conclusions: Knowledge of anesthesia among obstetric patients in western Uttar Pradesh is markedly deficient. Preoperative patient education by the anaesthesia team significantly reduces fears and improves acceptance of spinal anaesthesia. Structured counselling about anaesthesia is recommended to be integrated into routine antenatal care programmes.
Key words: Anaesthesia awareness, caesarean section, knowledge, perception, primigravida, questionnaire, spinal anaesthesia, western Uttar Pradesh