TITLE:
Prevalence of Obstetric Referrals in the Dassa-Glazoué Health District, Benin, from 2020 to 2024
AUTHORS:
Aurelle Yeyinou Ahouingnan, Ingrid Bénédicte Olowo, Fanny Nm Hounkponou, Merveille Ahoboko, Akpona Simon
KEYWORDS:
Prevalence, Obstetric Referrals, Dassa-Glazoué (Benin) 2020-2024
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.16 No.3,
March
3,
2026
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Obstetric referrals remain a public health challenge. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of obstetric referrals in the DASSA-Glazoué health district. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical study with retrospective data collection over a five-year period. The study population consisted of women who were referred within the Dassa-Glazoué health district (Zone Hospital and l’Abbraccio Hospital). Women referred between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2024, were included, while incomplete or unusable medical records of non-referred women were excluded. The sampling exhaustive was used. Data collected on KoboCollect from June 18 to July 20, 2025, were analyzed using Epi Info 7 software. Text and tables were processed using Microsoft Word 2016 and Excel, and Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests were applied. Informed consent and ethical committee approval were observed. Results: The prevalence of referred women was 29.84%. The mean age was 26.56 ± 6.62 years, ranging from 12 to 48 years. The age groups [24 - 31] years (35.37%) and [17 - 24] years (34.64%) were most represented. The mean parity was 1.87, with pauciparous women (50.52%), primiparous (30.31%), nulliparous (32.44%), and multiparous (27.54%), and the majority resided in urban areas (70.16%). Most referrals came from health centers (91.41%), had a referral form (93.83%), and had intravenous access prior to transfer (74.49%). Transport time was short for 42.20% of cases (arrival within 2 hours), but motorcycles were the main mode of transport (58.77%). The main reasons for referral were inadequacy of technical facilities (46.43%). Severe hypertension/preeclampsia-eclampsia, post-term pregnancy and pain as the reason for admission was significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality (p