Prevalence of Reproductive Health Problems During Delivery Among Rural Women: A Study in Chidambaram Area, Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu

Abstract

The reproductive health of women is of special concern, particularly during their reproductive years when reproductive morbidity is high, especially in countries like India. This study was conducted to assess the reproductive health status of rural married women and to identify those suffering from reproductive morbidity, providing appropriate guidance and treatment. Delivery typically occurs after nine months of pregnancy. Whenever possible, a pregnant woman should give birth in a health centre or hospital, even if the pregnancy is normal. This is primarily because complications during labour can suddenly arise, threatening the lives of the mother, the baby or both. This community-based, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among rural married women over 18 years of age in the field practice study areas. Using a simple random sampling method, a sample size of 260 was selected. Data collected from married women using a pretested structured questionnaire were analysed using SPSS. More than 51 percent of the women assessed reported health problems, including prolonged labour, excessive bleeding, malpresentation, episiotomy/perineal tears, and retained placenta during delivery. The majority of respondents reported experiencing malpresentation (53.4%) and excessive bleeding (46%) during delivery. Cross-classification analysis shows that prolonged labour, excessive bleeding, malpresentation, episiotomy/perineal tears, and retained placenta were the most common problems reported by the women in the study area. In this study, to assess the percentage of women accessing institutional delivery, respondents were asked to provide information about the place of delivery. More than 54 percent of the respondents delivered in private hospitals, nearly 40 percent used government health facilities, and only 0.8 percent delivered in maternity homes. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with delivery-related complications among married women in the Chidambaram area of Tamil Nadu.