Background: Caesarean section is the most common major obstetric surgical procedure performed on women. Surgical site infections complicate up to 5-10% of all caesarean sections and result in significant human suffering and excess health care costs. Interventions such as prophylactic antibiotic reduce surgical site infections, but the rate of infection remains high. There is therefore a need to identify and test other potential interventions to further reduce the incidence of surgical site infections. Objective: The aim of this randomised control trial was to compare the effect of two different antiseptic skin preparations; chlorhexidine-alcohol and povidone iodine on surgical site infection rates after caesarean section and to determine the rate of skin reactions to both antiseptic skin preparation. Methodology: A total of 374 patients (188 in the chlorhexidine-alcohol group and 186 in the povidone iodine group) who had elective caesarean section with no overt risk factor for surgical site infection were recruited. They underwent caesarean section based on the same technique. A proforma was designed to collect information on sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics and neonatal outcome. Patients were contacted at intervals up to thirty days from delivery, to assess symptoms and signs of surgical site infection and they were treated as appropriate.