Does maternal marital status indirectly influence use of medical interventions during delivery in American Samoa?

Abstract

<div><p><strong>Background:</strong> This paper explores the association between maternal marital status and the use of medical interventions during delivery in Samoan women living in American Samoa. In this culture, married women are generally considered higher social status than unmarried women.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> Here we reviewed the medical charts of all women of Samoan descent giving birth at the LBJ Tropical Medical Centre (n=1052) to determine if there was a relationship between marital status and the most common medical interventions utilized in American Samoa: labour induction (rupturing membranes), and assistance (operative vaginal deliveries, episiotomies and caesarean births).</p><p><strong>Findings:</strong> Results indicated that there is no difference in the rates of membrane rupturing or caesarean sections between marital statuses. However, unmarried women experienced significantly more episiotomies and operational vaginal deliveries than their married peers.</p></div><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The results of this study suggest an important relationship between culture and medical care in American Samoa.</p>