Socio demographic profile and presentations of patients with ruptured gravid uterus in Calabar Nigeria

Abstract

Background: To study the Socio-demographic profiles and mode of clinical presentations of with uterine rupture in pregnancy in Calabar, Nigeria.
Method: Medical records of 67 patients managed for ruptured gravid uterus over 10 years in Maternity section of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital Calabar, Nigeria were reviewed.
Results: An incidence of 1 in 213 of all deliveries during the period was established. Majority (49.2%) were aged between 31 to 40 years and 43.3% had no formal education. Unemployed patients were 29.9%, 42.3% did not book for antenatal care while 32.8% were attended to by traditional birth attendants (TBA) and in the churches. The Commonest clinical presentations were fetal heart rate abnormalities (52.2%) and maternal collapse (46.3%). Majority (50.7%) resulted from neglected obstructed labour.
Conclusion: Ruptured uterus is a problem of ignorance among women of low socioeconomic group with most of them having unskilled and substandard care during pregnancy and delivery. Improvement in Socio-economic conditions and modification of some harmful cultural practices against women generally will reduce the problem of rupture uterus in our society



Nigerian Journal of Medicine Vol. 17 (1) 2008 pp. 78-82