Effect of Health Sector Evolution Plan on the Prevalence and costs of Caesarean section and natural childbirth

Objective (s): In recent decades, rates of cesarean delivery as a percentage of all live births have increased in Iran. This study aimed to examine the effect of Health Sector Evolution (HSE) plan on prevalence and costs of different types of delivery in Ardabil University of Medical Sciences in 2015. Methods: This was a cross-sectional and retrospective study. The study population was all women who were admitted to the specialized hospital of obstetrics and gynecology of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences between May 2013 and May 2015. The sampling was done based on simple random sampling method and data was obtained by self-constructed checklist based on medical records. Also, data analysis was done by STATA software. Results: The descriptive results showed that about 55% of the participants were in age 25 to 30, 98% of them were married, and about 12% were covered by rural insurance, notwithstanding it shows their location. Analytical results showed that there was a significant difference between the prevalence of the Vaginal delivery (t=-7/987, p<0/001) and cesarean (t=6/988, p<0/001) before and after of HSE. Total cost of vaginal delivery and cesarean changed significantly before and after of HSE (p