A Single Institution Study of Attitudes of Primigravidae to Routine Clinical Pelvimetry

Abstract

Background: Pelvimetry is a poor predictor of obstetric outcome. The predictive value of clinical pelvimetry remains limited except in extreme pelvic contracture or an excessively large fetus. Objective: To determine the attitudes of primigravidae to routine clinical pelvimetry. Subjects and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of primigravidae at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu between January 1st and December 31st, 2009. Self-administered, structured, and pre-tested questionnaires were distributed to the consenting selected women by trained medical interns. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16. P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 195 primigravidae were selected at random for this study. One hundred and thirty eight primigravidae (138/195, 70.77%) were aware of clinical pelvimetry while 29.23% (57/195) were not aware of clinical pelvimetry. One hundred and twenty five primigravidae (90.58%, 125/138) desired clinical pelvimetry to continue while thirteen (9.42%, 13/138) did not desire clinical pelvimetry to continue. There was statistically significant difference between those who were aware and unaware of pelvimetry in their desire for pelvimetry [X2=18.903, p=0.0001, OR 5.2, 95% confidence interval=2.20 to 12.44]. Conclusion: There is profound awareness and the desire to continue clinical pelvimetry among primigravidae at the UNTH, Enugu, Nigeria, where majority of the women showed strong preference for it.