An institutional survey of female genital mutilation in Lagos, South-West, Nigeria

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) as a procedure can have serious physical and psychological health consequences in girls and women.Objectives: To determine the prevalence of FGM and the socio-demographic factors which influence the practice among women in Lagos State.Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) with eligible participants recruited by  consecutive sampling method. Relevant data were collected using a structured questionnaire and physical inspection of the external genitalia was performed on each respondent to confirm the presence and type of FGM. All quantitative data were entered in the computer and analysed using SPSS version 17 for windows.  Descriptive statistics were computed for all relevant data.Results: The prevalence of FGM in the study was 56.3% with the largest proportion of the respondents with FGM being women aged 60years and above. The Yoruba ethnic group had the lowest prevalence of FGM (44.2%), while the highest  prevalence was found among the Ibos (93.1%) (p=0.025). An almost similar  proportion of Christians (53.3%) and Muslims respondents (62.4%) had physical evidence of FGM (p=0.074). Higher levels of maternal education was significantly related to reduction in practice of FGM (p=0.002).Conclusion: There is an urgent need for a better analysis and understanding of the socio-demographic mechanisms sustaining the practice of FGM in Nigeria.Keywords: Complications, education, external genitalia, Ibo, prevalence, socio-demographic factor

HIV in Pregnancy: Experience at Abeokuta, Nigeria

Background: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic remains a major threat to public health. Measures to minimize mother to child transfusion remain a major focus of research. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of HIV in pregnancy in our obstetric clinic population and evaluate the effects of HIV infection on the course and outcome of pregnancy. Materials & Methods: A case-control study of all HIV-positive pregnant women who delivered at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta between January, 1997 and June, 2000. Selected characteristics including age, parity, gestational age at booking, weight gain in pregnancy, duration of pregnancy and the infants characteristics were compared between seropositive and negative women. Results: Sixteen women had HIV infection among a total of 2,442 women booked during the study period. The prevalence of HIV infection in pregnancy was 0.7%. Following diagnosis, eight of the HIV positive women defaulted from ante-natal care None opted for anti-retroviral therapy. There were no statistically significant differences in the haematocrit at booking (p=0.9), the weight gain in pregnancy (p=0.2), birth-weights between the two groups. All the women had vaginal deliveries. There were significant differences in the infants Apgar scores and perinatal mortality rates were higher in the HIV positive group. All the mothers chose to breastfeed their infants. Conclusion: HIV infection in this population is associated with birth asphyxia and a high perinatal mortality rate. The survivors are also at great risk of vertical transmission during breast-feeding. Key Words: HIV, Pregnancy, Vertical Transmission, Birth Asphyxia. [Trop J Obstet Gynaecol, 2002, 19: 21-24]