Table 3.
| Author, year | Study design | Method study quality | Population, country |
Outcomes (self-report or clinical verification) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abor 2006 [48] | Cross-sectional | Low | N = 34, Ghana | Cesarean section (17%); episiotomy (29%); instrumental delivery (8%) (self-report) |
| Akotionga et al. 2001 [55] | Case series | High | N = 49, Burkina Faso | Difficult delivery (13%) (clinical) |
| Al-Hussaini 2003 [49] | Cross-sectional | Moderate | N = 254, Egypt | Tears (2%); cesarean section (17%); episiotomy (95%) (clinical) |
| Awuah 2008 [56] | Case series | Low | N = 70, Ghana | Prolonged labor stage 1 (37%); prolonged labor stage 2 (9%); massive tears (23%; damage to rectal wall (13%); episiotomy (14%); hemorrhage (24%) (self-report) |
| Bayoudh et al. 1995 [50] | Cross-sectional | Low | N = 300, Somalia | Episiotomy (3%) (self-report) |
| Bonessio et al. 2001 [57] | Case series | Low | N = 9, Italy | Prolonged labor (25%); cesarean section (25%) (clinical) |
| Chalmers and Hashi 2000 [51] | Cross-sectional | Low | N = 432, Canada | Cesarean section (51%); vacuum extraction (7%); forceps (3%) (self-report) |
| Dörflinger et al. 2000 [58] | Case series | Low | N = 39, Sudan | Prolonged labor stage 1 (7%); prolonged labor stage 2 (24%); tears (7%); hemorrhage (14%) (clinical) |
| Litorp et al. 2008 [52] | Cross-sectional | Low | N = 40, Sweden | Obstetric difficulties (self-report) |
| Mccaffrey 1995 [53] | Cross-sectional | Low | N = 50, England | Tears (100%); cesarean section (26%); Instrumental delivery (13%) (clinical) |
| McSwiney and Saunders 1992 [59] | Case report | NA | N = 1, England | Tears led to rapid hemorrhage (clinical) |
| Ndamobissi et al. 1995 [54] | Cross-sectional | High | N = 2555, Central African Republic | Obstetric complications (self-report) |
| Osifo and Evbuomwan 2009 [6] | Case series | High | N = 51, Nigeria | Tears (4%) led to uncontrolled bleeding (clinical) |
| Philp 1927 [60] | Case report | NA | N = 1, Kenya | Death in childbirth (clinical) |
| Preston 1937 [61] | Case report | NA | N = 1, Kenya | Birth per rectum (clinical) |
| Pritchard 1969 [62] | Case report | NA | N = 3, England | Dystocia (clinical) |
Legend: Method.: methodological; NA: not applicable, we did not assess methodological study quality of case reports.