Global survey on maternal and perinatal health
A research project implemented by WHO in a global network of health facilities between 2004 and 2008
- Participation from 373 health facilities from 24 countries in the Americas, African, South-East Asia and Western Pacific WHO Regions
- Included nearly 300,000 observations
- Focused on the relationship between mode of delivery and the maternal and perinatal outcome
- Main and secondary analyses have been conducted using the rich study database
Main finding
An intrinsic risk of increased severe maternal outcomes with caesarean deliveries was shown
The main finding of this project was the independent association between caesarean sections and severe maternal outcomes. Overall, this risk was higher in African countries than in Asia or Latin America. Thus, the analyses concluded that caesarean sections should be performed when a clear benefit is anticipated, a benefit that might compensate the higher costs and additional risks in the context of the specific setting where the operation is taking place.
Methodological aspects and the project findings are available in several publications. In addition, the crude tabulations of the global database can be downloaded.
Main analyses
- Caesarean section without medical indications is associated with an increased risk of adverse short-term maternal outcomes: the 2004-2008 WHO Global Survey on Maternal and Perinatal Health
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Method of delivery and pregnancy outcomes in Asia: the WHO global survey on maternal and perinatal health
pdf, 179kb -
Cesarean delivery outcomes from the WHO global survey on maternal and perinatal health in Africa
pdf, 247kb -
Caesarean delivery rates and pregnancy outcomes: the 2005 WHO global survey on maternal and perinatal health
pdf, 144kb
Methodological aspects and other analysis
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A global reference for fetal-weight and birthweight percentiles
The Lancet, Volume 377, Issue 9780, Pages 1855 - 1861, 28 May 2011 -
Weight percentiles calculator
xls, 39kb - Methodological considerations in implementing the WHO Global Survey for Monitoring Maternal and Perinatal Health
- Maternal near miss and maternal death in the World Health Organization’s 2005 global survey on maternal and perinatal health
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Neonatal near miss approach in the 2005 WHO Global Survey Brazil
pdf, 141kb -
Factors and outcomes associated with the induction of labour in Latin America
pdf, 104kb -
WHO global survey on maternal and perinatal health in Latin America: classifying caesarean sections
pdf, 175kb -
Intracluster correlation coefficients from the 2005 WHO Global Survey on Maternal and Perinatal
pdf, 126kb -
Maternal and neonatal individual risks and benefits associated with caesarean delivery: multicentre prospective study
pdf, 440kb
Database tabulations
UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction Department of Reproductive Health and Research: (last revised: August 2010). World Health Organization.
