ABSTRACT
(1) In 2013, an estimated 40% of pregnancies in Cameroon were unintended. (2) More than six in 10 women who want to avoid pregnancy either do not practice contraception or use a relatively ineffective traditional method. These women can be said to have an unmet need for modern contraception. (3) Meeting just half of this unmet need would prevent 187,000 unplanned pregnancies each year, resulting in 65,000 fewer unsafe abortions and 600 fewer maternal deaths annually. (4) If all unmet need for modern methods were satisfied, maternal mortality would drop by more than one-fifth, and unintended births and unsafe abortions would decline by 75%. (5) Investing in contraceptive commodities and services to fulfill all unmet need among women who want to avoid pregnancy would result in a net annual savings of US$5.4 million (2.7 billion CFA francs) over what would otherwise be spent on medical costs associated with unintended pregnancies and their consequences. (6) Expanding contraceptive services confers substantial benefits to women, their families and society. All stakeholders, including the Cameroon government and the private sector, should increase their investment in modern contraceptive services.
Subject(s)
Contraception/statistics & numerical data , Health Promotion/methods , Health Services Needs and Demand/statistics & numerical data , Reproductive Health Services/statistics & numerical data , Women's Health Services/statistics & numerical data , Abortion, Induced/adverse effects , Abortion, Induced/mortality , Abortion, Induced/statistics & numerical data , Birth Rate/ethnology , Cameroon/epidemiology , Child, Unwanted , Contraception/economics , Cost-Benefit Analysis , Female , Health Services Needs and Demand/economics , Humans , Infant Mortality/ethnology , Infant, Newborn , Maternal Mortality/ethnology , Pregnancy/ethnology , Pregnancy/statistics & numerical data , Pregnancy, Unplanned/ethnology , Pregnancy, Unwanted/ethnology , Reproductive Health Services/economics , Women's Health Services/economicsABSTRACT
This paper examines the cultural acceptability of biomedical obstetrical services and care across an anthropological literature review and a qualitative survey carried out in North Cameroon. The results reveal that cultural acceptability of biomedical services is impaired by a series of requirements such as a too early first prenatal visit; use in common of delivery rooms; wards and obstetrical tools; the absence of traditional healing like massage after delivery; refusal to hand over the placenta and umbilical cord to the family; and hindering the presence of family members during delivery. These evidences support a transition from normative medical system to an efficient and flexible medical system related to the expectations of the population established with its participation. This is commonly called patient-centred care
