Perceptions of pregnancy complications in Haiti Article

Anderson, FWJ, Naik, SI, Feresu, SA et al. (2008). Perceptions of pregnancy complications in Haiti . INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GYNECOLOGY & OBSTETRICS, 100(2), 116-123. 10.1016/j.ijgo.2007.08.005

cited authors

  • Anderson, FWJ; Naik, SI; Feresu, SA; Gebrian, B; Karki, M; Harlow, SD

authors

abstract

  • Objective: To determine the incidence of perceived pregnancy complications and associated factors. Methods: During a census, 450 women identified themselves as pregnant and 388 were interviewed postpartum. Results: Complications were reported by 58.6%. Bleeding post-delivery was the most frequent complication (42.5%), followed by great pain (33.8%), bleeding during pregnancy (20.1%), and fever post-delivery (11.6%). Prenatal care at either a dispensary or a clinic was associated with reports of bleeding during pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] 9.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.71-48.00 and OR 7.58; 95% CI, 1.53-37.48, respectively). Women who visited a doctor were less likely to report bleeding during pregnancy (OR 0.20; 95% CI, 0.08-0.55) or fever post-delivery (P = 0.015). Herb use was associated with reported bleeding during pregnancy (OR 2.22; 95% CI, 1.12-4.40) and great pain (OR 1.94; 95% CI, 1.05-3.58). Conclusion: The perceived pregnancy complication rate in Haiti is high and is associated with access to health care. The association between use of herbs and pregnancy complications warrants investigation. © 2007 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

publication date

  • January 1, 2008

published in

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 116

end page

  • 123

volume

  • 100

issue

  • 2