ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Pain is termed as a subjective phenomenon, however almost all women acknowledge that labor pain is the most severe form of pain a woman experiences in her lifetime. Obstetric analgesia is underutilized in developing countries due to cultural myths and taboos. Hence, the present study aims to identify Nigerian women's knowledge of labor analgesia and to explore what myths and factors hinder with the use of analgesia in labor. METHOD: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted in this study. The population of the study predominantly consisted of pregnant women from the «Yoruba ethnic group¼. An adapted semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from participants from selected Health Care Centers in Ekiti state, Nigeria. The collected data was analyzed using a descriptive and inferential statistics and was represented in form of tables and charts with level of significance set at p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 236 respondents were included in the study (n = 236). Findings from this study revealed that, the participants showed very poor knowledge on labor pain management strategies, with only 26.3% being aware of pain management strategies used in relieving labor pain. An elevated number of the participants (56.8%) believed that labor pain should not be relieved with the use of drugs, strongly agreeing that analgesia was «a sign ofweakness¼ (57.2%). Also, more than half (51.7%) of participants had fears that pain relief administered during labor can cause harm to the unborn baby. Belief that experiencing labor pain completes one's motherhood (49.6%), Religion (50.4%) and Culture (54.5%), were reported as factors influencing the uptake/acceptance of labor analgesia among participants. Furthermore statistical significant association was found between educational level of participants and knowledge of labor analgesia among participants (p value = 0.000; p ≤ 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Cultural myths on the use of analgesia exist among participants. It is suggested that women-centered education should be targeted toward eliminating these myths and increasing awareness about labor analgesia.
Subject(s)
Analgesia, Obstetrical , Labor Pain , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Labor Pain/drug therapy , Nigeria , Pain Management , PregnancyABSTRACT
Objetivo: El dolor se califica como un fenómeno subjetivo, sin embargo, casi todas las mujeres reconocen que el dolor de parto es la forma más severa de dolor que una mujer experimenta en su vida. La analgesia obstétrica está infrautilizada en los países en desarrollo debido a mitos y tabúes culturales. Por lo tanto, el presente estudio pretende identificar los conocimientos de las mujeres nigerianas sobre la analgesia del parto y explorar qué mitos y factores dificultan el uso de la analgesia en el parto. Método: En este estudio se adoptó un diseño cuantitativo descriptivo transversal. La población a estudio consistió predominantemente en mujeres embarazadas de la «etnia Yoruba». Se utilizó un cuestionario semiestructurado adaptado para obtener datos de las participantes de los centros de salud seleccionados en el estado de Ekiti, Nigeria. Los datos recogidos se analizaron mediante estadística descriptiva e inferencial y se representaron en forma de tablas y gráficos. El nivel de significación estuvo fijado en p ≤ 0,05. Resultados: Un total de 236 encuestadas fueron incluidas en el estudio (n = 236). Los resultados de este estudio revelaron que las participantes tenían un conocimiento muy pobre de las estrategias de tratamiento del dolor del parto, ya que solo 26,3% conocía las estrategias de tratamiento del dolor utilizadas para aliviar el dolor del parto. Un elevado número de las participantes (56,8%) creía que el dolor del parto no debía aliviarse con el uso de fármacos, estando muy de acuerdo en que la analgesia era «un signo de debilidad» (57,2%). Asimismo, más de la mitad (51,7%) de las participantes temían que el alivio del dolor administrado durante el parto pudiera causar daños al feto. La creencia de que experimentar el dolor del parto completa la maternidad (49,6%), la religión (50,4%) y la cultura (54,5%) se señalaron como factores que influyen en la aceptación de la analgesia del parto entre las participantes.(AU)
Objective: Pain is termed as a subjective phenomenon, however almost all women acknowledge that labor pain is the most severe form of pain a woman experiences in her lifetime. Obstetric analgesia is underutilized in developing countries due to cultural myths and taboos. Hence, the present study aims to identify Nigerian women's knowledge of labor analgesia and to explore what myths and factors hinder with the use of analgesia in labor. Method: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted in this study. The population of the study predominantly consisted of pregnant women from the «Yoruba ethnic group». An adapted semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from participants from selected Health Care Centers in Ekiti state, Nigeria. The collected data was analyzed using a descriptive and inferential statistics and was represented in form of tables and charts with level of significance set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: A total of 236 respondents were included in the study (n = 236). Findings from this study revealed that, the participants showed very poor knowledge on labor pain management strategies, with only 26.3% being aware of pain management strategies used in relieving labor pain. An elevated number of the participants (56.8%) believed that labor pain should not be relieved with the use of drugs, strongly agreeing that analgesia was «a sign ofweakness» (57.2%). Also, more than half (51.7%) of participants had fears that pain relief administered during labor can cause harm to the unborn baby. Belief that experiencing labor pain completes one's motherhood (49.6%), Religion (50.4%) and Culture (54.5%), were reported as factors influencing the uptake/acceptance of labor analgesia among participants.(AU)
