Female circumcision and obstetric complications

Type Journal Article - International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics
Title Female circumcision and obstetric complications
Author(s)
Volume 77
Issue 3
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2002
Page numbers 255-265
URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020729202000280
Abstract
Objectives: To examine whether complications at delivery are associated with female circumcision. Method: One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one women seeking family planning or antenatal care in three south-west Nigerian hospitals were interviewed and had a medical exam. The prevalence of complications at delivery for uncircumcised women and circumcised women with type 1 (partial or total removal of the clitoris) or type 2 (partial or total removal of the clitoris and part or all of the labia minora) were determined. Associations between self-reported complications at delivery and clinic-reported type of circumcision were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. Result: Forty-five percent were circumcised; 71% had type 1 and 24% had type 2. Circumcised women had significantly higher risks of tearing and stillbirths when all pregnancies were analyzed. Conclusion: Circumcised women experienced more obstetric complications, while there was no significant difference between women with type 1 and type 2.

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