Briefly,the WHO MCS was a cross-sectional study implemented in 359 health facilities in 29 countries. Countries, provinces (or other equivalent political divisions within countries), and health facilities were randomly selected to participate in the WHO MCS through a stratified, multistage cluster sampling strategy. Health facilities were only eligible if they dealt with at least 1000 deliveries per year and had the capacity to provide CS. Between May 2010 and December 2011 the WHO
MCS included 314 623 women from Africa, Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean region, and Latin America.