Analysis of Caesarean Delivery in General Hospitals in Sokoto State Using Robson’s Ten Classification: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Maternal mortality is relatively higher in the northern part of Nigeria. The level of caesarean section (CS) performed in a facility in a locality is an important indicator of access to, and quality of maternal health services in that locality. The Robson classification has been recommended by the World Health Organization as a gold standard for assessing, monitoring, and comparing CS rates at all levels. This was a cross-sectional study across six primary health facilities (General hospitals (GHs) spread across six local government areas in Sokoto state, Northwest Nigeria. Data were collected from medical charts of all women who attended antenatal care/delivered from August - November 2022. The overall CS was calculated, and the women categorized into one of the ten Robson groups. The data showed that the women with the highest frequency of delivery were aged less than 20 (44.98%) followed by those aged 20-34. The CS rate in Sokoto State GHs was 13.56%, a rate relatively higher than the average in sub-Saharan Africa. The data showed that the commonest forms of CS were those in Robson’s Group 1-4, which are categorized as low risk forms of CS, where Group 4 had the highest CS cases (26.62%). Our findings can guide the State Ministry of Health in policy formulation and implementation to improve the maternal and child health in the State. Keywords: Caesarean section, delivery, Robson Classification, Obstetrics, Sokoto Nigeria, primary healthcare.