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Article History

Received: 3 April 2023

Accepted: 27 February 2025

First Online: 7 May 2025

Declarations

:

: All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. The study was approved by the National Health Science Research Committee of Malawi (NHSRC), as part of a broader study project into unnecessary caesareans and respectful maternity care (Approval Number 1995). As St. Luke’s Hospital has no Institutional Review Board, hospital management gave permission to collect data in the facility according to Malawian regulations after NHSRC approval. Collected data were all transferred anonymously into the database. Data are presented in aggregate form only and no information can be traced back to individual women or involved staff. Therefore consent to participate was deemed unnecessary as per common protocol and national regulations. Case files were collected every month from the Health Management Information System (HMIS) departments’ archives and were kept in locked storage in a secured research office during data for the entire time frame of data collection and thereafter.

: Not applicable.

: JvR is a Senior Editorial Board Member and TvdA is an Editorial Board Member for BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. All other authors declare no competing interests.