Day 2 :
Keynote Forum
Radhouane Achour
El Manar University of Tunis, Tunisia
Keynote: Vaginismus and various repercussions
Biography:
Radhouane Achour is an Associate Professor at Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunisia. He has published many basic and clinical articles in relation to Gynecology and Obstetrics. His research interests include rare diseases in gynecology, prenatal diagnosis and sexology. He serves as an Associate Professor in the Emergency Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Maternity and Neonatology Center, Tunisia. He also serves as a Member of the Editorial Team for: Asian Pacific Journal of Reproduction, The Global Journal of Rare Diseases, Journal of Neonatal Biology, Current Pediatric Research, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Open Access, Pediatrics and Health Research, and a Member of the Science Advisory Board.
Abstract:
Psyche and physical body form a unity, which cannot function one without the other. Vaginismus is an example for a psychological condition, characterized by involuntary contraction of perineal muscles resulting in an impossibility of penetration during sexual intercourse. The result of our experience in Tunisia: A prospective study, 20 pregnant patients with vaginismus who presented at our Obstetric Emergency Department: Most women described a conservative family background (70%) in which they received little or no sexual education (60%). All women described a feeling of anxiety and anger immediately before sexual intercourse and 40% have never sought medical consultation regarding their vaginismus before. For these women, having a child sometimes results from a real obstacle course with many psychological consequences. Prevalence of vaginismus is difficult to estimate, as there is insufficient data due to a lack of population-wide studies. During pregnancy, prenatal care visits often represent the first gynecological consultations in these women.
- Prenatal & Postnatal Care – A woman’s Approach
Session Introduction
Gwacham-Anisiobi Uchenna
University of Liverpool, England
Title: Respectful maternity care: Women’s perspective of disrespect and abuse during pregnancy, labour, and birth in Imo State, Nigeria
Biography:
Uchenna Gwacham-Anisiobi is a Medical Doctor and a public health enthusiast with interests in health promotion, Healthcare Quality Improvement, Maternal and Newborn Health, as well as Health systems strengthening. She is particularly passionate about maternal and newborn health; improving the indices in Nigeria and other Low-Middle-Income Countries. Uchenna is committed to continuous health systems improvement and aspires to be a part of the innovative solutions which will make healthcare safer across the continuum. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree at the University of Liverpool (online) in Public Health – Management of Health systems. She is a Fellow of the International Society for Quality in Health Care.
Abstract:
Statement of Purpose:
With a Maternal Mortality Ratio of 576 per 100,000 live births in 2013, Nigeria contributes a disproportionately high number of maternal deaths to the global burden. In Nigeria, only 38% of deliveries occur at a health facility, and health-facility delivery has been associated with better health outcomes. Disrespect and abuse of mothers during pregnancy, labour, and birth is a serious global public health issue and has been documented as a deterrent for health facility use. This study will explore women’s perspective of disrespect and abuse during maternity care in Imo state, Nigeria, and how this influences their future health-seeking behaviors.
Methodology & Theoretical Orientation:
Participants would be purposively recruited from women who have received maternity care (in pregnancy, labour, and birth) for at least one completed gestation from a health facility in Imo state Nigeria. All participants must have experienced one or more disrespectful or abusive care. A phenomenological study would be conducted using in-depth interviews for the participants till a data saturation is attained. Audio recordings of the interviews would be transcribed and analyzed using a six-stage thematic analysis in accordance with the phenomenological approach.
Dr. Chris Griffin
Statewide Obstetric Support Unit, Western Australia
Title: Human factors in maternity incidents
Biography:
Chris Griffin is a Medical Director at the State-wide Obstetric Support Unit of Western Australia. He has also been a Consultant Obstetrician and Subspecialist in Maternal and Fetal Medicine. He has published extensively in books and major professional journals.
Abstract:
Human factors are issues affecting how people do their jobs. They are the social and personal skills, such as communication and decision making which complement our technical skills. These are important for the safe and efï¬cient provision of medical services. The study of human factors involves applying scientiï¬c knowledge about the human body and mind to help understand human capabilities and limitations. Human factors knowledge can be used to reduce the likelihood of errors and build more error tolerant and more resilient systems. I will be presenting strategies to reduce human error in maternity care.
- Vaginismus
Session Introduction
Samaneh Rostamian
Mysore University, India
Title: Vaginismus and subfertility: Case reports on the association observed in clinicalpractice
Biography:
Samaneh Rostamian has completed her PhD in field of Clinical Psychology from Kerala University, India, in 2014 and had completed her Master’s degree in Mysore University, India (in the same field). She is a Clinical Psychologist and is studying advanced language courses in her field now.
Abstract:
The purpose of this research is to analyses patients with vaginismus. It is a condition in which involuntary muscle spasms prevents vaginal penetration. This often results in pain with attempts at sex. Often it begins when sexual intercourse is first attempted. This reaction is completely inhospitable and uncontrollable and prevents any foreign object from entering, even the finger or tampon to the vagina. Vaginismus can lead to sexual impairment, emotional disturbances and marital disharmony. This research includes a series of cases of Malaysian women, who had been suffering from vaginismus and infertility. There was no history of traumatic sexual experience or any major psychiatric illness in these patients and majority of the patients had prominent symptoms of anxiety. They had unique psychological features, which require psychological interventions. Generally there is a relation between infertility and vaginismus but in some cases, shows that pregnancy was still possible despite the women suffering from vaginismus and can still have vaginal delivery. The underlying cause is generally a fear that penetration will hurt. It is thought to be more prevalent in younger women, women with negative attitudes towards sex and those with a history of sexual abuse. Treatment may include behavior therapy such as breathing exercises and relaxation techniques assist in overcoming sexual anxieties.
- Intrapartum Care & Abnormal Labour
Session Introduction
Gwacham-Anisiobi Uchenna,
University of Liverpool, England
Title: Endangered at birth: sociocultural factors affecting the consent to an emergency cesarean section in Southeastern Nigeria
Biography:
Gwacham-Anisiobi Uchenna is a Medical Doctor and a Public Health Enthusiast with interests in health promotion, healthcare quality improvement, maternal and newborn health, as well as health systems strengthening. Currently, she is pursuing her Master’s degree at the University of Liverpool (online) in Public Health-Management of Health systems. She is a Fellow of the International Society for Quality in Health Care. She is particularly passionate about maternal and newborn health; improving the indices in Nigeria and other low-middle-income countries. She is committed to continuous health systems improvement and aspires to be a part of the innovative solutions, which will make healthcare safer across the continuum.
Abstract:
Nigeria is a very important country for global maternal death burden. Nigeria and India alone contributed to over one-third of the global maternal deaths in 2015. The World Bank estimates that the maternal death in Nigeria was about (814; UI 596 to 1180) per 100,000 live births in 2015. Several factors are responsible for the trend of maternal deaths in the country, one of which is the rate of institutional deliveries, which stood at about 38% in 2017. Of the women who choose to deliver in a health facility, outright refusal of cesarean deliveries is common place even in emergent critical conditions. Several opinions and schools of thought have emerged in trying to understand this trend in Nigeria. In this session, I will be sharing five stories which represent the five major typologies for women who refuse cesarean births in Southeastern Nigeria. There is an urgent need to increase awareness of the safety and the role of emergency cesarean section in Nigeria as these interventional deliveries when indicated have been proven to drastically reduce maternal and perinatal mortalities.