Delivery rate in Benin City, Nigeria: are there seasonal variations?

OBJECTIVE To determine if there are monthly variations in the rate of deliveries in Benin City, Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective descriptive study carried out in the three major obstetric centers in Benin City, Nigeria. We extracted the total number of deliveries from the hospitals' records for over a five-year period and analyzed the figures for monthly variation in delivery rates. This was repeated for a standardized 30-day month and the findings noted. RESULTS There were 28,686 deliveries during the study period with an average monthly delivery of 2,390. The monthly distribution showed a sinusoidal pattern with peak delivery rates in April-May and October and lowest rates in July-August and December. The months of April, May, and October had delivery rates that were significantly higher than the monthly average delivery rate, while the converse was true for July, August, and December at the 99% confidence interval. CONCLUSIONS There exists a significant monthly variation in delivery rates in Benin City. This finding will prove valuable in health system planning and in the interpretation of seasonal variations in other reproductive parameters.