Why the study?
Mapping obstetric RCTs can provide valuable insights into clinical research practice and help prioritise scarce resources towards local health needs.
There is a misalignment between current obstetric research priorities and global maternal and perinatal health needs, as well as inconsistencies in transparency practices across countries.
Supports reallocation of obstetric research to leading mortality causes; challenges prevailing priorities and exposes transparency inconsistencies.
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) underpin evidence-based clinical practice and have the potential to improve women's health globally. Mapping obstetric RCTs can offer valuable insights into clinical research practice and help prioritise scarce resources towards local health needs. We provide a comprehensive overview of 6905 obstetric RCTs published between Jan 1, 2013, and May 31, 2025, characterising trial features, geographical distribution, and reporting transparency. RCT publications increased substantially, with the USA, Iran, India, and the European Union member countries as leading contributors. Labour analgesia and anaesthesia were the most researched areas, whereas major causes of maternal and perinatal death, such as hypertensive disorders, preterm birth, and postpartum haemorrhage received comparatively less attention. Considerable cross-country disparities in trial transparency practices were also observed, even after adjustment for national gross domestic product and livebirths. By mapping the global obstetric RCT landscape in its socioeconomic context, we reveal inconsistencies in transparency practices across countries and a misalignment between the current research priorities and global maternal and perinatal health needs.
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Li et al. (2026) studied this question.
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