Abstract
Background: Giving birth should be a period of joy, but for more than half a million women, their pregnancy and childbirth end in death while some develop vesicovaginal fistula. Vesicovaginal fistula is an abnormal communication between the bladder and the vagina leading to continuous leakage of urine through the vagina. Little is known about the perception of pregnant women about obstetric fistula and this group of women are those who are at risk of the disease. Our aim therefore was to evaluate the level of awareness of vesicovaginal fistula among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in a rural hospital. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study conducted at Mile 4 missionary Hospital, Abakaliki, between 1st of May and 1st of July, 2017. Data was collected with the use of questionnaire. Ethical clearance was gotten from the institutions ethical committee. Results: Their mean age was 27 ± 5 years and mean parity was 2 ± 2. Awareness of vesicovaginal fistula was 57.8%. Risk factors identified for vesicovaginal fistula were prolonged obstructed labour, instrumental vaginal delivery, caesarean section and short stature. Only 80 (39.2%) believed vesicovaginal fistula could be treated. Conclusion: Awareness of vesicovaginal fistula in the study population was 57.8%. A significant number of women were not aware that vesicovaginal fistula could be treated.
Highlights
Giving birth should be a time of joy, but for more than half a million women, their pregnancy and childbirth end in death and for every woman who dies, 20 to 50 women suffer serious injuries and disabilities, including obstetric fistula [1]
If pregnant women are aware of the risk factors of vesicovaginal fistula and the psychosocial morbidities associated with the disease, they would probably start requesting for emergency caesarean section/referral to better health facilities when they perceive that their labour is becoming longer than expected
51 (25%) knew that pregnant women were at risk of vesicovaginal fistula
Summary
Giving birth should be a time of joy, but for more than half a million women, their pregnancy and childbirth end in death and for every woman who dies, 20 to 50 women suffer serious injuries and disabilities, including obstetric fistula [1]. A lot has been documented about management of patients with obstetric fistula but little is known about its perception among pregnant women. If pregnant women are aware of the risk factors of vesicovaginal fistula and the psychosocial morbidities associated with the disease, they would probably start requesting for emergency caesarean section/referral to better health facilities when they perceive that their labour is becoming longer than expected. Giving birth should be a period of joy, but for more than half a million women, their pregnancy and childbirth end in death while some develop vesicovaginal fistula. Little is known about the perception of pregnant women about obstetric fistula and this group of women are those who are at risk of the disease. Our aim was to evaluate the level of awareness of vesicovaginal fistula among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in a rural hospital. A significant number of women were not aware that vesicovaginal fistula could be treated
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