Antenatal women's childbearing practices at the Niger Delta university teaching hospital, Okolobiri Nigeria

Background: Overpopulation in a community or a country reflects high fertility desires of its citizens. A country can only progress meaningfully if its resources and amenities can provide for all its citizens. Objectives: To examine the childbearing practices of antenatal attendees at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, Nigeria and whether there is any suggestion of fertility decline or transition. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of two hundred and fifty-two women who had antenatal care in the hospital during the study period. Data was collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.85. Data collected were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 25. Statistical significance was a p-value <0.05. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 30.5 ± 5.9 years. More than half (53.6%) had tertiary education and 39.3% had secondary education. Only 29.4% were housewives/unemployed. The median parity was 2 and 229 women accounted for previous deliveries of 596 babies. The median desired total number of children was 4 (range 1 to 8). More than half (56.3%) did not believe in spacing after the first child. Seventy-six (30.2%) had no knowledge of modern contraceptives. There was a significant relationship (p - 0.018) between child sex preference and number of births. Conclusion: With a current median parity of two children/woman and desired total number of children of a median of four children/woman, the childbearing practices of the population studied may not result in a fertility rate far below the Nigeria national average of 5.3 children per woman. Nevertheless, a study to derive the total fertility rate in the study population is necessary to determine whether or not there is ongoing fertility transition.

Is There a Change in Patient Preference for a Female Colonoscopist during the Last Decade in Korea?

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Patients may feel embarrassed during colonoscopy. Our study aimed to assess changes in patient preference, over the past decade, for the sex of their colonoscopist. METHODS: Prospective studies were performed at a single health center from July to September 2008, and from July to September 2016. Subjects included colonoscopy patients (2008: 354, 2016: 304) who were asked to complete a questionnaire before colonoscopy. RESULTS: In 2016, 69 patients (24.9%) expressed a sex preference, compared with 46 patients (14.6%) in 2008. By 2016, female patient preference for a female colonoscopist had significantly increased to 95% (odds ratio [OR], 2.678; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.418– 5.057; P=0.002). In multivariate analysis, patient sex (OR, 4.404; P=0.000), patient age (OR, 0.977; 95% CI, 0.961–0.992; P=0.004), and year of procedure (OR, 1.674; 95% CI, 1.028–2.752) were statistically significant factors in sex preference. Between 2008 and 2016, female patients preferred a female colonoscopist because of embarrassment. Male patients also preferred a male colonoscopist, and the primary reason shifted from expertise to patient embarrassment (2008: 29%, 2016: 63%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients have an increased gender preference for the colonoscopist because of embarrassment. Taking this into account can increase patient satisfaction during colonoscopy.

Perceptions of Married Women on Childbirth and Sex Preference and Related Factors in Gyeongju, Korea / 農村醫學 地域保健

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of married Korean women regarding marriage and childbirth, and their awareness of childbirth-related issues such as low birth rates, sex preferences and sex imbalances in Korea. METHODS: A total of 453 married women aged 20 or older were randomly selected from four urban districts and five rural districts out of 25 districts in Gyeongju, a consolidated city located in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, South Korea. The survey was conducted from December 2005 to February 2006. A total of 392 out of 453 questionnaires(86.5% response rate) were collected, and 44 incomplete questionnaires were excluded, leaving 348 completed questionnaires to be used for data analysis. Age was divided into three groups as below 49, 50-69, 70 or older. RESULTS: Women's perceptions of marriage were associated with age(p<0.01). Perceptions about childbirth were also significantly related to age(p<0.01), type of residential area (p<0.01) and education level(p<0.05). Sex preferences were significantly related to age(p<0.05) and occupation(p<0.01). Of the respondents aged 49 or younger, 34.8% indicated that the ideal number of children is two, while 25.5% of respondents aged 50 to 69 and 15.3% of respondents aged 70 and 33.7% of respondents aged 70 or older considered four children to be the ideal number. Perceptions of sex imbalance were significantly related to socioeconomic status(p<0.01) and occupation(p<0.01). The largest number of respondents cited "economic burden" as the main reason for low birth rates. Multiple logistic regressions were performed for all three age groups using male sex preference as the dependent variable under the assumption that respondents can have only a single child. Socioeconomic status (p<0.01) and residential area (p<0.05) were significant variables for those aged 49 or below. Education level(p<0.05) and residential area (p<0.01) were statistically significant variables on preferring son in case of having only one child for respondents aged 50 to 69. We did not detect any significant independent variables in respondents who were 70 or older. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the necessity of developing policies and public education programs to explain the consequences of low birth rates and sex imbalances in Korea. As increasing numbers of women work outside the home, it is important for the government and employers to provide social and working environments where women do not consider marriage and childbirth to be obstacles to social and business activities.