Obstacles à l’adoption de la planification familiale parmi les femmes dans l’est de la République Démocratique du Congo.

The objectives of this survey were to identify women’s level of KAP toward FP; identify possible barriers to using FP; determine pregnancy spacing pattern; and ascertain the level of FP promotion by health workers. This was a 2-weeks cross-sectional survey at all maternity units in Butembo of post-partum women. 572 women were interviewed. FP knowledge was high (76%), perception good (80%). Majority used traditional methods (65%), mostly Calendar method (72%). Barriers to using modern FP included lack of knowledge, fear of side effects, religious considerations and husband opposition. Unmet need for spacing and limiting was high (21 & 31%).For majority (56%), pregnancy spacing met WHO’s Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy recommendations. Promotion of FP was poor (42%). Training of health workers, advocating modern contraception, improving FP services in all public health facilities and promoting FP on each contact of women is highly recommended in this cityCette enquête avait pour objectifs d’identifier le niveau CAP du FP, les obstacles possibles à l’emploi de la FP, de déterminer les habitudes d’espacement des naissances et le niveau de la promotion de la PF par le personnel sanitaire. Il s’agissait d’une enquête transversale qui a duré deux semaines, auprès de toutes les femmes du post partum dans toutes les unités de soins maternels à Butembo. Nous avons interrogé au total 572 femmes. Le niveau de la connaissance de la PF était élevé (76%), la perception était bonne (80%). La plupart d’entre elles utilisaient les méthodes traditionnelles (65%) surtout la méthode du calendrier (72%). Les obstacles à l’utilisation des méthodes modernes comprennent le manque de connaissance, la peur des effets secondaires, des considérations religieuses et l’opposition par le mari. Les besoins non satisfaits de l’espacement et de la limitation des naissances étaient d’un niveau élevé (21% & 31%). Pour la majorité (56%), l’espacement de grossesse était conforme aux recommandations de l’OMS. Nous préconisons bien la formation du personnel de santé, le plaidoyer en faveur de l’usage des méthodes modernes, l’amélioration des services de la PF dans tous les établissements de santé publics et la promotion de la PF à chaque contact des femmes dans cette vill

The Challenges of Managing Ovarian Cancer in the Developing World

Ovarian cancer has high morbidity and mortality rates among cancers of the reproductive system. The disease typically presents at late stage when the 5-year relative survival rate is only 29%. Similarly, access to prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care for cancer-related disease is insufficient. The availability of cancer treatments in Africa is especially poor. Case. A 17-year-old lady, nulliparous, was admitted with complaint of abdominal swelling and loss of weight and a huge left ovarian cyst revealed by ultrasound scan. Laparotomy was done, and a mass which resembled a hemorrhagic solid tumor was found. Grossly, the left ovarian mass measured 15.0×20.0×8.0 cm and a left salpingectomy was performed. Two months later, she came back with lower limb swelling progressively increased in a week with vulvar edema, with a palpable mass. She was discharged on request by her relatives for traditional medicine. One year later, she passed on in an unrevealed picture. The management of ovarian cancer is too challenging in low-resource countries, from hospital settings to the communities with poor cancer awareness. It is therefore imperative that healthcare resources, policies, and planning focus to be coordinated in a rational way

Spontaneous Massive Vulvar Edema in Pregnancy: A Case Report

Spontaneous massive vulvar edema in pregnancy is unusual and a cause for concern. This condition should be taken seriously since it might be caused by some conditions such as preeclampsia, diabetes, vulvovaginitis, severe anemia, and neoplasms. We report a case of massive vulvar edema in a 15-year-old primigravida following tocolysis therapy at 33 weeks of gestation. Other causes of vulvar edema were excluded. The vulvar edema appeared spontaneously after tocolysis and rapidly increased in size, associated with severe vulvar pains. The vulvar edema resolved progressively with antibiotics, corticoids, and analgesics. The patient delivered by spontaneous vaginal delivery a term live newborn with an unremarkable postpartum period. The aim of this report is to alert clinicians that conservative attempts could be considered for vulvar edema complicating tocolysis