TITLE:
Could Labor Be Considered Outside of a Medical Environment in Africa? Case of the Maternity Hospital in Yopougon Attié/Abidjan/Ivory Coast/West Africa
AUTHORS:
Ecra Ana Touré, Konan Blé Rémy, Koffi Koffi Abdoul, Konan Perel
KEYWORDS:
Cervix Dilation Stage, Childbirth Labor, Medical Supervision, Neonatal Prog-nosis, Côte d’Ivoire
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.13 No.9,
September
28,
2023
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Developing countries are characterized by a high maternal mortality rate,
particulary related to the management of childbirth. The author describes in this
work 588 childbirth labors that took place without any medical supervision. Method: All patients who reached the hospital with a full cervix dilation were included
in the study. The outcomes of those childbirth labors without medical supervision
were evaluated at the maternal and neonatal level. Results and Discussion: The
average age of the patients was 28.1 ± 13 years with 47% nulliparous and 30% pauciparous. These patients represented
14% of all births; 59% of the patients had had three and five prenatal consultations.
71% of them came straight from home and had meconium-stained amniotic fluid. The
APGAR score was greater than 6 in 94% of newborns, and 66.7 of them weighed between
2500 and 3500 g. Only 0.9% of patients coming from home needed a caesarean section. Conclusion: Home birth is not yet possible in Africa because it is not supervised
by professionals who know the risks of childbirth, its complications and recognize
the warning signs; however, the results of this preliminary study show that the
issue of home childbirth in C?te d’Ivoire can be reconsidered subject to greater
involvement of medical staffs.