Table 2.

Themes and sub-themes of challenges in obstetric emergency referrals

Themes	Sub-themes
Referral Consent	Women’s concerns about surgery and the care process
	Slow family consent
Pre-Referral Care Ability	Lack of confidence in providing pre-referral care
	Lack of emergency care experience
	Absence of standardized pre-referral care guidelines
Patient Transfer to The Hospital	Complicated referral information system
	The importance of establishing a relationship with an obstetrician at the hospital
	Damaged road conditions prolong travel time
Patient Admission to The Hospital	Hospital refusal
	Long waiting time for patient handover
	Unfriendly attitude of hospital staff