Labor, delivery, postpartum

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Cesarean section

Africa

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Epidemiology of surgical site infections post-cesarean section in Africa: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis [2025]

• Maternal Health, Neonatology and Perinatology
  • Surgical site infection and its association with rupture of membrane following cesarean section in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies [2021]

• PLOS Global Public Health
  • Identifying interventions to reduce peripartum haemorrhage associated with caesarean delivery in Africa: A Delphi consensus study [2022]

Africa, South-East Asia

• International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
  • FIGO opinion paper: Drivers and solutions to the cesarean delivery epidemic with emphasis on the increasing rates in Africa and Southeastern Europe [2023]

Australia

• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
  • Caesarean section

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Rate of spontaneous onset of labour before planned repeat caesarean section at term [2014]

• NSW Health
  • Maternity - Timing of Planned or Pre-labour Caesarean Section at Term

• SA Health
  • Category One Caesarean Section Management Standards Clinical Directive
  • Caesarean Section

Australia, New Zealand

• Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
  • Delivery of fetus at caesarean birth [2023]
  • Caesarean birth on maternal request (CBMR) [2023]
  • Timing of planned caesarean section at term [2022]
  • Categorisation of urgency for caesarean section [2019]

Austria

• Enhanced Recovery After Surgery
  • Enhanced recovery after cesarean section (ERAC): Where are we in Austria? [2023]

Austria, Germany, Switzerland

• Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde
  • Caesarean Section. Guideline of the DGGG, OEGGG and SGGG (S3-Level, AWMF Registry No. 015/084, June 2020) [2021]

Bangladesh

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Prevalence and determinants of socioeconomic inequality in caesarean section deliveries in Bangladesh: an analysis of cross-sectional data from Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey, 2017-18 [2023]
  • Prevalence and predictors of elective and emergency caesarean delivery among reproductive-aged women in Bangladesh: evidence from demographic and health survey, 2017-18 [2022]
  • Reasons for performing a caesarean section in public hospitals in rural Bangladesh [2014]

• International Health
  • Multilevel analysis to identify the factors associated with caesarean section in Bangladesh: evidence from a nationally representative survey [2023]

• PLoS ONE
  • Caesarian section (CS) delivery in Bangladesh: A nationally representative cross-sectional study [2021]

Bhutan

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Rates and indications of caesarean section deliveries in Bhutan 2015–2019: a national review [2021]

Brazil

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Using the Robson classification to assess caesarean section rates in Brazil: an observational study of more than 24 million births from 2011 to 2017 [2021]

• Ciência & Saúde Coletiva
  • Temporal trends and projections of caesarean sections in Brazil, its administrative macro-regions, and federative units [2023]

• PLoS ONE
  • Cost-effectiveness of mechanical thromboprophylaxis for cesarean deliveries in Brazil [2023]
  • Caesarean Delivery and Postpartum Maternal Mortality: A Population-Based Case Control Study in Brazil [2016]

• Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem
  • Trends in cesarean section rates in Brazil by Robson classification group, 2014-2020 [2024]

• Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia
  • Cesarean-section Rates in Brazil from 2014 to 2016: Cross-sectional Analysis Using the Robson Classification [2020]

• Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira
  • Cesarean delivery and small newborn for gestational age [2016]
  • Cesarean on request [2015]

Burkina Faso

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • After surgery: the effects of life-saving caesarean sections in Burkina Faso [2015]
  • Readiness of district and regional hospitals in Burkina Faso to provide caesarean section and blood transfusion services: a cross-sectional study [2014]

• Tropical Medicine & International Health
  • How a supply-side intervention can help to increase caesarean section rates in Burkina Faso facilities-Evidence from an interrupted time-series analysis using routine health data [2023]

Cameroon

• Archives of Public Health
  • Prevalence, indications and neonatal complications of caesarean deliveries in Cameroon: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2020]

Canada

• Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
  • Post-operative Procedures for Caesarean Sections: A Review of Clinical Effectiveness and Guidelines [2019]

• New England Journal of Medicine
  • A Cluster-Randomized Trial to Reduce Cesarean Delivery Rates in Quebec [2015]

• Ontario Health
  • Caesarean Delivery Rate Review: An Evidence-Based Analysis [2015]

• Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
  • Classification of Cesarean Deliveries in Canada: The Modified Robson Criteria [2023]
  • Impacted Fetal Head, Second-Stage Cesarean Delivery [2021]
  • Caesarean Delivery on Maternal Request [2018]

Canada, Spain

• Implementation Science
  • Evaluation of quality improvement for cesarean section programmes through mixed methods [2014]

China

• BMC Medicine
  • The trend of caesarean birth rate changes in China after ‘universal two-child policy’ era: a population-based study in 2013–2018 [2020]

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Antepartum risk factors and outcomes of massive transfusion for elective cesarean section: a nationwide retrospective cohort study [2024]
  • Maternal age at first cesarean delivery related to adverse pregnancy outcomes in a second cesarean delivery: a multicenter, historical, cross-sectional cohort study [2021]
  • A descriptive analysis of the indications for caesarean section in mainland China [2014]

• BMJ
  • Relaxation of the one child policy and trends in caesarean section rates and birth outcomes in China between 2012 and 2016: observational study of nearly seven million health facility births [2018]

• BMJ Open
  • Changes in caesarean section rates in China during the period of transition from the one-child to two-child policy era: cross-sectional National Household Health Services Surveys [2022]

• International Journal of Women's Health
  • Cesarean section in the People’s Republic of China: current perspectives [2014]

• Journal of Global Health
  • Hospital variations in caesarean delivery rates: An analysis of national data in China, 2016-2020 [2023]

Colombia

• Revista Colombiana de Obstetricia y Ginecología
  • Evolution of cesarean sections in Colombia and its association with the legal standing of the institutions where deliveries take place [2023]

Cyprus

• PLoS ONE
  • Predictors and trends of Caesarean section and breastfeeding in the Eastern Mediterranean region: Data from the cross-sectional Cyprus Women's Health Research (COHERE) Initiative [2023]

Czech Republic

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Has the cesarean epidemic in Czechia been reversed despite fertility postponement? [2022]

Developed countries

• Frontiers in Pediatrics
  • Elective Cesarean Section on Term Pregnancies Has a High Risk for Neonatal Respiratory Morbidity in Developed Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2020]

Egypt

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Medical and non-medical reasons for cesarean section delivery in Egypt: a hospital-based retrospective study [2019]

• Cureus
  • Efficacy and Safety of Carbetocin Versus Misoprostol in Cesarean Section: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2022]

• Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal
  • Rising trends in Caesarean section in 6 Egyptian governorates [2022]

Estonia, Finland

• Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
  • Cesarean section trends from 1992 to 2016 in Estonia and Finland: A registry-based study [2023]

Ethiopia

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Cesarean delivery rates, hospital readiness and quality of clinical management in Ethiopia: national results from two cross-sectional emergency obstetric and newborn care assessments [2021]
  • Prevalence of surgical site infection and its associated factors after cesarean section in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis [2020]

• BMC Public Health
  • Observed trends in the magnitude of socioeconomic and area-based inequalities in use of caesarean section in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study [2020]

• BMJ Open
  • The changing temporal association between caesarean birth and neonatal death in Ethiopia: secondary analysis of nationally representative surveys [2019]

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Impact of cesarean section on timely initiation of breastfeeding in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2021]

• Journal of Environmental and Public Health
  • Does Timing of Antenatal Care Initiation and the Contents of Care Have Effect on Caesarean Delivery in Ethiopia? Findings from Demographic and Health Survey [2021]

• Patient Safety in Surgery
  • Prevalence, indications, and outcomes of caesarean section deliveries in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2020]

• PLoS ONE
  • Prevalence of emergency caesarean delivery and its predictors among women who give birth in Ethiopia using further analysis of EDHS 2016 data: A mixed effect model [2024]
  • Trend and associated factors of cesarean section rate in Ethiopia: Evidence from 2000-2019 Ethiopia demographic and health survey data [2023]
  • Spatial and hierarchical Bayesian analysis to identify factors associated with caesarean delivery use in Ethiopia: Evidence from national population and health facility data [2022]

• Scientific Reports
  • Geographically weighted regression analysis of cesarean delivery using the Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey 2019 [2025]

Europe

• Euro-Peristat
  • Trends in caesarean section rates in Europe from 2015 to 2019 using Robson's Ten Group Classification System: A Euro-Peristat study [2024]
  • Using Robson's Ten-Group Classification System for comparing caesarean section rates in Europe: an analysis of routine data from the Euro-Peristat study [2021]

• European Association of Perinatal Medicine
  • European Association of Perinatal Medicine (EAPM) European Midwives Association (EMA) Joint position statement: Caesarean delivery rates at a country level should be in the 15-20 % range [2024]

• WHO European Region
  • Caesarean sections per 1000 live births

Europe, United States

• Euro-Peristat
  • Varying gestational age patterns in cesarean delivery: an international comparison [2014]

Finland

• BMJ Open
  • Breaking the myth: the association between the increasing incidence of labour induction and the rate of caesarean delivery in Finland - a nationwide Medical Birth Register study [2022]

France

• Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
  • Maternal mortality due to obstetric hemorrhage by surgical injury during cesarean section: A nationwide study [2024]

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Appropriateness of elective caesarean deliveries in a perinatal network: a cross-sectional study [2014]

Georgia

• PLoS ONE
  • Changes in cesarean section rates after introduction of a punitive financial policy in Georgia: A population-based registry study 2017-2019 [2022]

Germany

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Regional variation in caesarean deliveries in Germany and its causes [2013]

• Deutsches Ärzteblatt International
  • Indications for and Risks of Elective Cesarean Section [2015]

Ghana

• BioMed Research International
  • Examining Cesarean Section Rates in Ghana's 10 Regions Over a Decade a Comprehensive National Investigation [2024]

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Assessing five-year trend and socio-demographic determinants of caesarean section delivery in Ghana [2024]
  • Inequalities in prevalence of birth by caesarean section in Ghana from 1998-2014 [2022]

Greece

• European Journal of Midwifery
  • Which classification system could empower the understanding of caesarean section rates in Greece? A review of systematic reviews [2022]

High-income countries

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • A systematic review and time-response meta-analysis of the optimal timing of elective caesarean sections for best maternal and neonatal health outcomes [2020]

Honduras

• Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia
  • Robson's Ten Group Classification System to Evaluate Cesarean Section Rates in Honduras: The Relevance of Labor Induction [2022]

India

• BMC Health Services Research
  • Are cesarean deliveries equitable in India: assessment using benefit incidence analysis [2022]

• Frontiers in Public Health
  • The Dual Burden of Malnutrition Increases the Risk of Cesarean Delivery: Evidence From India [2018]

• International Health
  • Adverse infant outcomes associated with caesarean section delivery in India [2020]

• Journal of Medical Internet Research
  • Alarming Trends of Cesarean Section-Time to Rethink: Evidence From a Large-Scale Cross-sectional Sample Survey in India [2023]

• PLoS ONE
  • Preventing the preventable: Assessing the burden of incessant caesarean deliveries in select Indian states using NFHS-5 [2025]

Indonesia

• BMJ Global Health
  • Trends and sociodemographic inequalities in the use of caesarean section in Indonesia, 1987-2017 [2020]

• PLoS ONE
  • Factors contributing to socio-economic inequality in utilization of caesarean section delivery among women in Indonesia: Evidence from Demographic and Health Survey [2023]

International

• American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM
  • Tranexamic acid for the prevention of blood loss after cesarean section: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [2023]
  • Different methods of vaginal preparation before cesarean delivery to prevent postoperative infection: a systematic review and network meta-analysis [2023]

• Anaesthesia
  • International consensus statement on the use of uterotonic agents during caesarean section [2019]

• Anesthesiology
  • Expert Consensus Regarding Core Outcomes for Enhanced Recovery after Cesarean Delivery Studies: A Delphi Study [2022]

• BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
  • Audit and feedback using the Robson classification to reduce caesarean section rates: a systematic review [2017]
  • A global reference for caesarean section rates (C-Model): a multicountry cross-sectional study [2015]

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Mortality rate and risk factors for relaparotomy after caesarean section: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2025]
  • Association between decision-to-delivery time and neonatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2024]
  • Design characteristics of studies on medical practice variation of caesarean section rates: a scoping review [2020]
  • International migration and caesarean birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2013]

• BMC Psychology
  • Prevalence and correlates of postpartum PTSD following emergency cesarean sections: implications for perinatal mental health care: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2025]

• BMJ Global Health
  • Trends and projections of caesarean section rates: global and regional estimates [2021]

• BMJ Open
  • Behavioural factors associated with fear of litigation as a driver for the increased use of caesarean sections: a scoping review [2023]
  • Caesarean sections in teaching hospitals: systematic review and meta-analysis of hospitals in 22 countries [2021]

• Bulletin of the World Health Organization
  • “Too much, too late”: data on stillbirths to improve interpretation of caesarean section rates [2022]
  • WHO’s Robson platform for data-sharing on caesarean section rates [2022]

• Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
  • Different classes of antibiotics given to women routinely for preventing infection at caesarean section [2021]
  • Vaginal preparation with antiseptic solution before cesarean section for preventing postoperative infections [2020]
  • Skin preparation for preventing infection following caesarean section [2020]

• Cureus
  • Single- Versus Double-Layer Uterine Closure After Cesarean Section Delivery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2021]

• Enhanced Recovery After Surgery
  • Guidelines for postoperative care in cesarean delivery: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Society recommendations (part 3) [2019]
  • Guidelines for intraoperative care in cesarean delivery: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Society Recommendations (Part 2) [2019]

• European Journal of Anaesthesiology
  • Presence of the partner in the operating room during emergency caesarean section: A scoping review [2022]

• European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
  • Techniques for managing an impacted fetal head at caesarean section: A systematic review [2023]

• Frontiers in Medicine
  • Correlation Between Previous Caesarean Section and Adverse Maternal Outcomes Accordingly With Robson Classification: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2022]
  • The Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery for Cesarean Section: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials and Observational Studies [2021]

• International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
  • FIGO good practice recommendations on surgical techniques to improve safety and reduce complications during cesarean delivery [2023]
  • FIGO good practice recommendations for cesarean delivery on maternal request: Challenges for medical staff and families [2023]

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Pediatrics Consequences of Caesarean Section—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2020]

• Korean Journal of Anesthesiology
  • Comparison of different nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for cesarean section: a systematic review and network meta-analysis [2023]

• Medicina
  • Caesarean Section on Maternal Request-Ethical and Juridic Issues: A Narrative Review [2022]

• PLoS ONE
  • Non-clinical interventions to reduce unnecessary caesarean section targeted at organisations, facilities and systems: Systematic review of qualitative studies [2018]
  • The Increasing Trend in Caesarean Section Rates: Global, Regional and National Estimates: 1990-2014 [2016]
  • Obstetricians’ Opinions of the Optimal Caesarean Rate: A Global Survey [2016]

• Reproductive Health
  • Reducing unnecessary caesarean sections: scoping review of financial and regulatory interventions [2020]
  • Cesarean birth in the Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research: trends in utilization, risk factors, and subgroups with high cesarean birth rates [2020]
  • Women’s and communities’ views of targeted educational interventions to reduce unnecessary caesarean section: a qualitative evidence synthesis [2018]

• Scientific Reports
  • Pregnancy outcomes of women with previous caesarean sections: Secondary analysis of World Health Organization Multicountry Survey on Maternal and Newborn Health [2019]

Iran

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Developing criteria for Cesarean Section using the RAND appropriateness method [2010]

• Iranian Journal of Public Health
  • Assessing the Factors Affecting Cesarean Section Selection in Iranian Women Using Multilevel Count Models with Excess Zeros [2021]
  • Prevalence and Causes of Cesarean Section in Iran: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2014]

• Journal of Family & Reproductive Health
  • In Depth Analysis of the Leading Causes of Maternal Mortality Due to Cesarean Section in Iran [2017]

• Reproductive Health
  • Prevalence of and reasons for women’s, family members’, and health professionals’ preferences for cesarean section in Iran: a mixed-methods systematic review [2021]

Iraq

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Rates and trends in cesarean sections between 2008 and 2012 in Iraq [2017]

Ireland

• BMC Health Services Research
  • Differences in nulliparous caesarean section rates across models of care: a decomposition analysis [2016]

• Ireland's Health Services
  • C-section wound infection

• PLoS ONE
  • National Variation in Caesarean Section Rates: A Cross Sectional Study in Ireland [2016]

Israel

• Women's Health
  • Cesarean delivery on maternal request in Israel: Maternity department policies and obstetricians' perspectives [2022]

Italy

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • “An unnecessary cut?” multilevel health systems analysis of drivers of caesarean sections rates in Italy: a systematic review [2020]

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Caesarean Section on Maternal Request: An Italian Comparative Study on Patients’ Characteristics, Pregnancy Outcomes and Guidelines Overview [2020]

Japan

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Caesarean section by maternal age group among singleton deliveries and primiparous Japanese women: a secondary analysis of the WHO Global Survey on Maternal and Perinatal Health [2016]

Jordan

• Demographic and Health Surveys
  • Disparities in Cesarean Section among Women in Jordan: Analysis of the 2017-18 Jordan Population and Family Health Survey (JPFHS) [2020]

• Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal
  • Trends in Caesarean section deliveries in Jordan from 1982 to 2017: retrospective analyses of annual hospital reports [2021]

• Global Health: Science and Practice
  • Rising cesarean deliveries among apparently low-risk mothers at university teaching hospitals in Jordan: analysis of population survey data, 2002–2012 [2014]

Kenya, Tanzania

• Global Health Action
  • Cesarean delivery and associated socioeconomic factors and neonatal survival outcome in Kenya and Tanzania: analysis of national survey data [2020]

Latin America

• World Health Organization
  • Rising caesarean deliveries in Latin America: how best to monitor rates and risks [2009]

Lithuania

• Medicina
  • Cesarean section rates in Lithuania using Robson Ten Group Classification System [2015]

Low and middle income countries

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Effect of preoperative prophylactic intravenous tranexamic acid on perioperative blood loss control in patients undergoing cesarean delivery: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2023]

• BMJ
  • Within country inequalities in caesarean section rates: observational study of 72 low and middle income countries [2018]

• BMJ Open
  • Association between prelabour caesarean section and perinatal outcomes: analysis of demographic and health surveys from 26 low-income and middle-income countries [2022]

• Lancet Global Health
  • Variability in mortality following caesarean delivery, appendectomy, and groin hernia repair in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and analysis of published data [2016]

Malawi

• BMJ Global Health
  • Maternal mortality following caesarean section in a low-resource setting: a National Malawian Surveillance Study [2024]

Mali

• PLoS ONE
  • The Free Caesareans Policy in Low-Income Settings: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis in Mali (2003–2012) [2014]

Mexico

• Bulletin of the World Health Organization
  • Trends of caesarean delivery from 2008 to 2017, Mexico [2019]

• PLoS ONE
  • Association between location of prenatal care services and non-consented cesarean sections in Mexico: A secondary analysis of the National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships 2016 [2024]

Middle East

• Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal
  • Associations between caesarean births and breastfeeding in the Middle East: a scoping review [2021]

Middle East, North Africa

• PLoS ONE
  • Trends, wealth inequalities and the role of the private sector in caesarean section in the Middle East and North Africa: A repeat cross-sectional analysis of population-based surveys [2021]

Mozambique

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Caesarean section rates in Mozambique [2015]

Nepal

• BioMed Research International
  • Trend and Sociodemographic Correlates of Cesarean Section Utilization in Nepal: Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys 2006-2016 [2021]

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Trends and correlates of cesarean section rates over two decades in Nepal [2020]

• BMJ Open
  • Prevalence and associated factors of caesarean section delivery: analysis from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2022 [2025]

• Cureus
  • Prevalence and Factors Associated With Caesarean Delivery in Nepal: Evidence From a Nationally Representative Sample [2021]

Netherlands

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Identification of barriers and facilitators for optimal cesarean section care: perspective of professionals [2017]

• PLoS ONE
  • Modest Rise in Caesarean Section from 2000-2010: The Dutch Experience [2016]
  • Development and Measurement of Guidelines-Based Quality Indicators of Caesarean Section Care in the Netherlands: A RAND-Modified Delphi Procedure and Retrospective Medical Chart Review [2016]

Nigeria

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Caesarean section and associated factors in Nigeria: assessing inequalities between rural and urban areas-insights from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2018 [2024]

• BMJ Open
  • Cesarean delivery in Nigeria: prevalence and associated factors - a population-based cross-sectional study [2019]

• PLOS Global Public Health
  • A multi-level analysis of prevalence and factors associated with caesarean section in Nigeria [2023]

• Reproductive Health
  • Prevalence, indications, and complications of caesarean section in health facilities across Nigeria: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2023]

Norway

• BMJ Open
  • Time trends in caesarean section rates and associations with perinatal and neonatal health: a population-based cohort study of 1 153 789 births in Norway [2023]
  • Does caesarean delivery in the first pregnancy increase the risk for adverse outcome in the second? A registry-based cohort study on first and second singleton births in Norway [2020]

Pakistan

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Trends of caesarean section deliveries in Pakistan: secondary data analysis from Demographic and Health Surveys, 1990–2018 [2020]

Palestine

• BMJ Open
  • Caesarean section in Palestine using the Robson Ten Group Classification System: a population-based birth cohort study [2018]

Peru

• Lancet Regional Health – Americas
  • Flat trend of high caesarean section rates in Peru: A pooled analysis of 3,376,062 births from the national birth registry, 2012 to 2020 [2022]

• PLoS ONE
  • Caesarean Section in Peru: Analysis of Trends Using the Robson Classification System [2016]

Philippines

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Temporal trends and associated factors in cesarean section use in the Philippines: an analysis of Demographic and Health Survey data from 1993 to 2017 [2025]

Poland

• Ginekologia Polska
  • Recommendations of the Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians regarding caesarean sections [2018]

Portugal

• BMC Research Notes
  • Risk of caesarean section after induced labour: do hospitals make a difference? [2013]

Qatar

• Acta Biomedica
  • Review of socioeconomic risk factors for cesarean births: a population-based study [2023]

Republic of Korea

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
  • Cesarean Delivery Upon Request in Pregnancies Following Vaginal Delivery: A Nationwide Study [2024]
  • Changes in the Cesarean Section Rate in Korea (1982-2012) and a Review of the Associated Factors [2014]

• Obstetrics & Gynecology Science
  • Secular trends in cesarean sections and risk factors in South Korea (2006–2015) [2020]

Rwanda

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Prevalence and factors associated with caesarean section in Rwanda: a trend analysis of Rwanda demographic and health survey 2000 to 2019-20 [2022]

• International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics
  • Safe recovery after cesarean in rural Africa: Technical consensus guidelines for post-discharge care [2023]

• International Wound Journal
  • Prevalence of post-caesarean section surgical site infections in Rwanda: A systematic review and meta-analysis [2024]

South Asia

• PLoS ONE
  • Trends and determinants of caesarean section in South Asian countries: Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan [2024]

South-East Asia

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Does caesarean section have an impact on exclusive breastfeeding? Evidence from four Southeast Asian countries [2024]

Spain

• BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
  • What do popular Spanish women's magazines say about caesarean section? A 21-year survey [2014]

• Health Policy
  • An impact evaluation of the strategy for normal birth care on caesarean section rates and perinatal mortality in Spain [2022]

Sub-Saharan Africa

• African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine
  • Strengthening caesarean birth: Sub-Saharan Africa health system evaluation: Scoping review [2024]

• BMJ Open
  • Impact of caesarean section on breastfeeding indicators: within-country and meta-analyses of nationally representative data from 33 countries in sub-Saharan Africa [2019]

• Maternal Health, Neonatology and Perinatology
  • Cesarean section in sub-Saharan Africa [2016]

• PLOS Global Public Health
  • Discharge instructions given to women following delivery by cesarean section in Sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review [2022]

• PLoS ONE
  • Effect of maternal height on caesarean section and neonatal mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa: An analysis of 34 national datasets [2018]

Sudan

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Caesarean section in Sudan: findings from nationwide household surveys on rates, trends, and geographic and sociodemographic variability [2022]

Suriname

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Cesarean section in Suriname using robson classification: a two-year nationwide cross-sectional study on rates, risk factors and perinatal outcomes of cesarean section [2025]

Sweden

• PLoS ONE
  • Cesarean section and the gestational duration of subsequent pregnancies: A nationwide register-based cohort study [2025]

• Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services
  • Economic Evaluation of Elective Cesarean Section on Maternal Request Compared With Planned Vaginal Birth-Application to Swedish Setting Using National Registry Data [2023]
  • Conflicting attitudes between clinicians and women regarding maternal requested caesarean section: a qualitative evidence synthesis [2023]
  • Caesarean section on maternal request: A systematic review and assessment of medical, health economic, ethical and social aspects [2021]

Tanzania

• Archives of Public Health
  • Magnitude and trends in socio-economic and geographic inequality in access to birth by cesarean section in Tanzania: evidence from five rounds of Tanzania demographic and health surveys (1996–2015) [2020]

• BMC Public Health
  • Prevalence and factors associated with caesarean section among Tanzanian women of reproductive age: evidence from the 2022 Tanzania demographic and health survey data [2025]

Turkey

• Pan African Medical Journal
  • Policy recommendations to reduce high cesarean section rate in Türkiye [2024]

Uganda

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Spatial and temporal trends of cesarean deliveries in Uganda: 2012–2016 [2019]

United Kingdom

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Enhanced recovery after elective caesarean: a rapid review of clinical protocols, and an umbrella review of systematic reviews [2017]

• Health Technology Assessment
  • Long-term impact of pre-incision antibiotics on children born by caesarean section: a longitudinal study based on UK electronic health records [2022]
  • A randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of intraoperative cell salvage during caesarean section in women at risk of haemorrhage: the SALVO (cell SALVage in Obstetrics) trial [2018]

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
  • Balloon disimpaction of the baby's head at emergency caesarean during the second stage of labour [2025]
  • Caesarean birth [2024]
  • The benefits and risks of planned caesarean birth [2021]
  • Techniques to close the uterus at caesarean birth [2021]
  • Prevention and management of hypothermia and shivering: Caesarean birth [2021]
  • Methods to reduce infectious morbidity at caesarean birth [2021]
  • Caesarean birth (Quality standard) [2021]
  • 2021 exceptional surveillance of caesarean birth – surgical opening technique (NICE guideline NG192) [2021]
  • 2021 exceptional surveillance of caesarean birth – morbidly adherent placenta (NICE guideline NG192) [2021]
  • 2021 exceptional surveillance of caesarean birth – maternal request (NICE guideline NG192) [2021]
  • 2021 exceptional surveillance of caesarean birth – diamorphine (NICE guideline NG192) [2021]

• Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
  • Management of Impacted Fetal Head at Caesarean Birth [2023]
  • Safety messaging regarding the use of plastic cord clamps at caesarean section [2020]

United States

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  • Future Research Needs for Strategies To Reduce Cesarean Birth in Low-Risk Women [2012]

• American Academy of Family Physicians
  • Cesarean Delivery in Family Medicine (Position Paper) [2021]

• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  • Quality-Improvement Strategies for Safe Reduction of Primary Cesarean Birth [2025]
  • Cesarean Delivery on Maternal Request [2019]
  • Vaginal Seeding [2017]
  • Safe prevention of the primary cesarean delivery [2014]

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Changes in primary and repeat cesarean delivery: United States 2016-2021 [2022]

• JAMA Network Open
  • Cesarean Delivery Trends Among Patients at Low Risk for Cesarean Delivery in the US, 2000-2019 [2023]

• Journal of Perinatology
  • Epidemiology of Readmissions in Early Infancy Following Non-Elective Cesarean Delivery [2021]

• National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
  • Association Between Time of Day and the Decision for an Intrapartum Cesarean Delivery [2020]
  • Variation in the Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex Cesarean Delivery Rate [2018]
  • What we have learned about scheduling elective repeat cesarean delivery at term [2016]

• Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Preventing the First Cesarean Delivery: Summary of a Joint Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Workshop [2012]

• Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Special Statement: Surgical safety checklists for cesarean delivery [2021]
  • Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Special Statement: Checklist for thromboembolism prophylaxis after cesarean delivery [2020]
  • Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #51: Thromboembolism prophylaxis for cesarean delivery [2020]
  • Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Consult Series #49: Cesarean scar pregnancy [2020]
  • Coding update of the SMFM definition of low risk for cesarean delivery from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM [2017]
  • Comparing variation in hospital rates of cesarean delivery among low-risk women using 3 different measures [2016]

• StatPearls
  • Perimortem Cesarean Delivery

Uruguay

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Cesarean section in Uruguay from 2008 to 2018: country analysis based on the Robson classification. An observational study [2022]

WHO

• World Health Organization
  • WHO recommendations on choice of antiseptic agent and method of application for preoperative skin preparation for caesarean section [2021]
  • WHO recommendation on vaginal preparation with antiseptic agents for women undergoing caesarean section [2021]
  • WHO recommendation on prophylactic antibiotics for women undergoing caesarean section [2021]
  • WHO recommendations: non-clinical interventions to reduce unnecessary caesarean sections [2018]
  • Robson Classification: Implementation Manual [2017]
  • WHO statement on caesarean section rates [2015]
  • Maternal and institutional characteristics associated with the administration of prophylactic antibiotics for caesarean section: a secondary analysis of the World Health Organization Multicountry Survey on Maternal and Newborn Health [2014]
  • Determinants of caesarean section rates in developed countries: supply, demand and opportunities for control [2010]
  • Caesarean section without medical indication increases risk of short-term adverse outcomes for mothers: policy brief [2010]
  • Caesarean section
  • Births by caesarean section (%)

Zimbabwe

• South African Medical Journal
  • Rural-urban disparities and socioeconomic determinants of caesarean delivery rates in Zimbabwe: Evidence from the 2019 National Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey [2024]

{Related topics}

• Topic
  • Vaginal birth after cesarean
  • Obstetric analgesia and anesthesia
  • Labor, delivery