Burden of obstructed labor in ethiopia: A systematic review and meta -analysis

Background: Obstructed labor is a major cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality mainly in low-income countries, particularly in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, the prevalence and determinant factors of obstructed labor described by different studies were highly inconsistent. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the pooled prevalence and determinants of obstructed labor in Ethiopia. Methods: International databases (PubMed, Hinari, Google scholar, Cochrane library, and web of science) and Ethiopian universities' digital libraries were used to search relevant articles. Both cross-sectional and case control studies were included. A total of 15 studies were included in this study. All the necessary data were extracted by two authors independently using Microsoft excel and exported to STATA Version 11 for analysis. Heterogeneity of the studies was assessed by using I 2 test. The funnel plot and Egger's test were used to assess publication bias between the studies. The pooled prevalence of obstructed labor was estimated using random effects model. Fur thermore, the associations between determinant factors and obstructed labor were examined using both random and fixed effect models. Results: A total of 15 studies with 34632 study participants were involved in this meta-analysis. The overall prevalence of obstructed labor was 11.79% with 95% CI (9.78, 13.80). In this study, maternal age between 1519 years [OR = 8.03, 95% CI = 4.21, 15.30], malpresentation [OR = 7.73, 95% CI = 3.78, 15.83], lack of Ante Natal Care follow-up [OR = 4.37, 95%CI = 1.51, 12.67] and fetal weight > 4kg [OR = 5.83, 95% CI = 2.74, 12.41] were associated with obstructed labor. Conclusion: The overall prevalence of obstructed labor was high in Ethiopia. Maternal age between 15-19 years, malpresentation, lack of Ante Natal Care follow-up and fetal Wight > 4kg were determinants of obstructed labor. Hence, this study implies the need to develop plans and policies to improve Ante Natal Care follow and labor and delivery management at each level of the health system. Besides to this, fetal malpresentation and macrosomia should be recognized and intervene early during labor and delivery. <comment>Superscript/Subscript Available</comment