Effect of a Text Messaging–Based Educational Intervention on Cesarean Section Rates Among Pregnant Women in China: Quasirandomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Consensus exists that appropriate regional cesarean rates should not exceed 15% of births, but China’s cesarean rate exceeds 50% in some areas, prompting numerous calls for its reduction. At present, China’s 2016 two-child policy has heightened the implications of national cesarean section trends. OBJECTIVE: This study leveraged pervasive cellular phone access amongst Chinese citizens to test the effect of a low-cost and scalable prenatal advice program on cesarean section rates. METHODS: Participants were pregnant women presenting for antenatal care at a clinic in Xi’an, China. Assignment was quasirandomized and utilized factorial assignment based on the expecting mother’s birthday. Participants were assigned to one of the following four groups, with each receiving a different set of messages: (1) a comparison group that received only a few “basic” messages, (2) a group receiving messages primarily regarding care seeking, (3) a group receiving messages primarily regarding good home prenatal practices, and (4) a group receiving text messages of all groups. Messages were delivered throughout pregnancy and were tailored to each woman’s gestational week. The main outcome was the rates of cesarean delivery reported in the intervention arms. Data analysts were blinded to treatment assignment. RESULTS: In total, 2115 women completed the trial and corresponding follow-up surveys. In the unadjusted analysis, the group receiving all texts was associated with an odds ratio of 0.77 (P=.06), though neither the care seeking nor good home prenatal practice set yielded a relevant impact. Adjusting for potentially confounding covariates showed that the group with all texts sent together was associated with an odds ratio of 0.67 (P=.01). Notably, previous cesarean section evoked an odds ratio of 11.78 (P<.001), highlighting that having a cesarean section predicts future cesarean section in a subsequent pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Sending pregnant women in rural China short informational messages with integrated advice regarding both care-seeking and good home prenatal practices appears to reduce women’s likelihood of undergoing cesarean section. Reducing clear medical indications for cesarean section seems to be the strongest potential pathway of the effect. Cesarean section based on only maternal request did not seem to occur regularly in our study population. Preventing unnecessary cesarean section at present may have a long-term impact on future cesarean section rates. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02037087; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02037087. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2015-011016