Öz
Background: Episiotomy is a deliberate cut given on the perineum to widen the vaginal opening for the delivery of an infant but it is sometimes misused. The study aimed at determining the perception, experience and care of episiotomy among postnatal women.
Methods: This descriptive study was carried out in one selected tertiary, secondary and primary health care facility respectively in Ibadan. Purposive sampling techniques was used to select 219 participants. Data was collected using a self-structured questionnaire with reliability of 0.81 after obtaining ethical approval and informed consent. Two hundred (200) questionnaires were suitable for data analysis. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and hypotheses were tested using chi-square at p<0.05.
Results: One hundred and seventeen (58.5%) of the respondents were between ages 28-37 years with a mean age of 29.7 years. A total of 108(54.0%) of the respondents had experienced episiotomy. Informed consents were not obtained from most of the respondents before episiotomies were performed on them. Also, 78(72.2%) affirmed that they experienced pain and discomfort from episiotomy with 31 (28.7%) admitting that the pain affected their ability to care for their babies while 16 (14.8%) affirmed that the experience also resulted in discomfort during sexual intercourse. Furthermore, 92(85.2%) out of the 108 claimed that they were given information on the care of episiotomy after the procedure and thus, were able to use the various methods of episiotomy care effectively without any complications.
Conclusion: Episiotomy rate in this study was higher than the recommended evidenced-based rate for optimum care. Therefore, efforts should be made to reduce the rate at which episiotomies are performed by health workers on parturient mothers. In addition, women should be given appropriate information on episiotomy.
Keywords: Episiotomy care, experience, perception, postnatal women
Résumé
Contexte : L’épisiotomie est une coupure délibérée sur le périnée destiné à élargir l’ouverture vaginale lors de l’accouchement, mais elle est parfois mal utilisée. L’étude visait à déterminer la perception, l’expérience et les soins de l’épisiotomie chez les femmes postnatales.
Méthodes: Cette étude descriptive a été réalisée dans un établissement de soins de santé tertiaire, secondaire et primaire sélectionné à Ibadan, respectivement. Des techniques d’échantillonnage
par choix ont été utilisées pour sélectionner 219 participantes. Les données ont été collectées à l’aide d’un questionnaire auto-structuré avec une fiabilité de 0,81 après avoir obtenu l’approbation éthique et le consentement éclairé. Deux cents (200) questionnaires étaient appropriés pour l’analyse des données. Les données ont été analysées à l’aide de statistiques descriptives et les hypothèses testées à l’aide du chi-carré à p <0,05.
Résultats: Cent dix-sept (58,5%) des répondantes étaient âgés de 28 à 37 ans et avaient un âge moyen de 29,7 ans. Un total de 108 (54,0%) des répondantes avaient eu une épisiotomie. Les consentements éclairés n’ont pas été obtenus de la plupart des répondants avant l’épisiotomie. De plus, 78 (72,2%) ont déclaré souffrir de douleur et déconfort à cause de l’épisiotomie et 31
(28,7%) ont admis que la douleur affectait leur capacité à prendre soin de leur bébé, tandis que 16 (14,8%) ont affirmé que l’expérience avait également provoqué une gêne pendant les rapports sexuels. En outre, 92 (85,2%) des 108 ont déclaré avoir reçu des informations sur les soins de l’épisiotomie après la procédure et pouvaient ainsi utiliser efficacement les différentes méthodes
de traitement de l’épisiotomie sans complications.
Conclusion: Le taux d’épisiotomie dans cette étude était supérieur au taux recommandé basé sur la preuve pour des soins optimaux. Par conséquent, des efforts devraient être faits pour réduire le
taux d’épisiotomies par les agents de santé sur les mères parturientes. De plus, les femmes devraient recevoir des informations appropriées sur l’épisiotomie.
Mots-clés: Episiotomie, expérience, perception, femmes postnatales
Correspondence: Mrs Chizoma M. Ndikom, Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. Nigeria. E-mail: cmndikom@yahoo.com
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