Common Health Problems during Postpartum Period among Females in Rural Areas of Aligarh

Background: Postpartum maternal morbidity is defined by WHO as morbidity that occurs in the first 6 weeks after delivery.WHO defines maternal death as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.The leading cause of maternal mortality is postpartum hemorrhage .There are incidences of postpartum psychosis in many females which include postpartum blues, postnatal depression and postpartum psychosis The aim of this study was to find out self reported common health problems during the postpartum period in the women of rural areas of Aligarh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during Dec in 2017, in the rural areas of Jawan, Aligarh. The study subjects were married women aged between 15 to 45 years, who were present in the postpartum period, those who refused to provide consent, were excluded. Results: The results reported that 82% of females under study had problem of backache.Only 20% had breast problem. 92% of them gave complaint of either pain in lower abdomen.22% were suffering from white discharge per vaginum.There were psychological problems also present in the females under study. Most probable reason for these psychological problems were that some of the females were primigravida .So they had no experience of motherhood. Conclusion: The factors responsible for postpartum morbidity should be detected.Antenatal education programme needs to be implemented on a large scale.

Perception And Knowledge Of Vaginal Discharge Among Women In Rural Setting In Aligarh

The complaint of abnormal vaginal discharge is very common.An excessive degree of vaginal secretion is not necessarily pathologically infected, but could be hormonal. The aim of this study was to find out the perception and knowledge of vaginal discharge among married females of reproductive age group. Though many studies have been done to estimate the prevalence and the various causes of vaginal discharge, not much data is available regarding what women know about vaginal discharge, their attitudes, health care seeking behaviour and the various correlates regarding the same in rural setting. With this background, we conducted this study in our rural field practice areas in Aligarh. A total of 100 married females (15–45 years age group) were taken, who were presenting with complaint of vaginal discharge.The results showed that 100% of women reported the cause of vaginal discharge to be weakness and heat. 87% of women said the cause was due to backache, 93% of women reported the cause to be melting of bones. The effects of vaginal discharge as reported by majority of women were weakness(100%),backache(100%),pain in lower abdomen(37%), bodyache(81%),pallor(75%),etc. Also few women consulted doctors for treatment.36% of them took no treatment. Primary health care providers can play a major role in health education for women in reproductive age group and educate them on when to seek medical advice. This can be integrated to reproductive health care programmes such as family planning, maternal and child health services which will lead to early detection of vaginal discharge.

Study of menstrual problems among the adolescence girls of rural area of Aligarh.

Introduction: Menstrual practices are still bounded by social restrictions and taboos. This may result in ignorance of hygienic practices during menstruation. So there should be proper knowledge given to the girls since childhood. The present study was conducted in rural areas of Aligarh. It was conducted in 70 adolescent girls before taking verbal consent from them. The aim of the study was to find menstrual pattern among the rural adolescent girls, the various menstrual problems among them and the effect of this problem on their daily routine. Material and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among girls of age group 13 to 19 years attending the rural health training centre of Department of Community Medicine, J.N. Medical College, Aligarh. Seventy girls who had given verbal consent were interviewed. Data was collected by personal interview and semi structure questionnaires. Data was analyzed using SPSS software. 35.7% were in 13-15 years age group, 21.4% were in 15- 17 years age group and 42.9% were in 17-19 years age group. Regarding problems related to menstrual cycle, dysmenorrhea (71.4%) was the commonest problem. Other then this, girls had pre-menstrual syndrome (57.14%), backache (50%), fatigue (42.8%), breast heaviness ( 28.5%), joint pain (21.4%), increased weight (28.5%), headache( 28.5%) and abdominal bloating (50%). The menstrual problems affected their daily routine. Around 71.4% of the subject were forced to have prolonged bed rest, 64.28% had missed social activities. 50% of them had disturbed sleep, 35.7% had decreased appetite, 42.8% had missed classes, 50% who were employed had to abstain from their work. Conclusion: Menstruation problems usually cause interruption of daily routine of adolescent girls. School health programme should include provision for screening of adolescent girl for menstruation related problem and providing them with relevant information. Clearing up the misconception relating to menstruation and offering possible treatment options should be done. This may help in improving school and academic performance of students.