The trend of normal vaginal delivery and cesarean sections before and after implementing the health system transformation plan based on ICD‐10 in the northeast of Iran: A cross‐sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Concerning the growing rate of cesarean sections (CSs) worldwide, encouraging normal vaginal deliveries (NVDs) and mitigating CS rates is a necessity. This study investigated the status of delivery in hospitals affiliated with the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS) before and after implementing health system transformation plan (HSTP). METHODS: A cross‐sectional study was conducted in 2017 in the obstetrics and gynecology ward in four MUMS teaching hospitals. Data were extracted from hospital information systems (HISs) based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD‐10) and analyzed in SPSS VE10 software. RESULTS: The results revealed a significant difference between the rate of NVDs and CSs before and after HSTP, such that implementing this plan in MUMS hospitals has raised the rate of NVDs by 4%. Except for the age groups of less than 15 and 36–40 years, the difference between NVD and CS was significant in different age groups before and after HSTP. The rate of NVD significantly increased within 2 months after implementing HSTP. Furthermore, the difference in the rate of previous CS before and after implementing HSTP was significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study show the positive impact of the implementation of the HSTP on CS reduction and NVD increase in the studied hospitals. Since the studied hospitals were teaching and concerning the different costs of NVD and CS between the public and private hospitals, it is recommended to study all hospitals with the obstetrics and gynecology ward to precisely assess the success of HSTP in encouraging NVD.