Active management of the third stage of labour in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Post-partum haemorrhage occurs in over 10% of all births and is the leading cause of maternal mortality, accounting for 25% of all maternal deaths worldwide. Active management of the third stage of labor is the most important intervention for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality by preventing postpartum hemorrhage. Previously, documented primary studies had been great discrepancy, inconsistent results, and there is a lack of comprehensive study. Hence, this systematic review and meta-analysis were intended to assess the prevalence and associated factors of the practice of active management of the third stage of labour among obstetric care providers in Ethiopia.

Method: Cross-sectional studies were systematically searched from January 01, 2010, to December 24, 2020, using PubMed, Google Scholar, HINARI, Cochrane Library, and grey literature. The pooled prevalence of active management of the third stage of labour practice and associated factors was estimated using DerSemonial-Laird Random Effect Model. Stata (version 16.0) was used to analyze the data. The I-squared statistic was used to assess the studies' heterogeneity. A funnel plot and Egger's test were used to check for publication bias. A subgroup analysis was performed to minimize the underline heterogeneity depending on the study years and the sample sizes.

Results: Seven hundred fifty articles were extracted. The final ten studies were included in this systematic review, including 2438 participants. The pooled prevalence of practices of active management of the third stage of labour among obstetric care providers in Ethiopia was 39.65% (30.86, 48.45%). Educational status (OR = 6.11, 95%CI, 1.51-10.72), obstetric care training (OR = 3.56, 95% CI: 2.66, 4.45), work experience (OR = 2.17, 95%CI, 0.47, 3.87) and knowledge of active management of the third stage of labour (OR = 4.5, 95% CI: 2.71, 6.28) were significantly associated with active management of the third stage of labour practices.

Conclusion: The practice of active management of the third stage of labour in Ethiopia was low. This study showed that educational status, taking obstetric care training, knowledge of AMTSL, and work experience of obstetric care providers were associated with of practices of active management of the third stage of labour. Therefore, obstetric care professionals should improve their academic level, knowledge, and skills in order to provide useful service to AMTSL and save mothers' lives. All obstetric care providers should get obstetric care training. Furthermore, the government should increase obstetric care professionals' educational level.

Fig 1. PRISMA flow chart revealing study selection for systematic review and meta-analysis of the practice of active management of the third stage of labor in Ethiopia.

Fig 2. Forest plot of the pooled prevalence of practices of active management of the third stage of labor in Ethiopia.

Fig 3

a: Funnel plot for assessing publication bias of the prevalence of practices of active management of the third stage of labor in Ethiopia. b: Funnel plot of the 12 studies’ fill and trim analysis results for adjusting publication bias.

Fig 4

a: Subgroup analysis of the pooled prevalence of practices of active management of the third stage of labor based on the study period. b: Subgroup analysis of the pooled practices of the prevalence of active management of the third stage of labor based on the sample size.

Fig 5. Forest plot of the association between training, educational status, knowledge of active management practices of the third stage of labour, and work experience with the practice of active management of the third stage of labour in Ethiopia.