Peer-reviewed article
[Obstetrical and neonatal prognosis of patients with a history of female genital mutilation].
Selides S, Nallet C, Vouga M, Mottet N, Ramanah R ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study compared pregnancy and birth outcomes for women with a history of female genital mutilation (FGM) against women without FGM at a French hospital. Women with FGM experienced significantly more complications during delivery, including more instrumental deliveries, caesarean sections, perineal tears, and blood loss. Neonatal outcomes were similar between the two groups, suggesting that while maternal health is affected, newborn health was not compromised in this sample.
Key points
- Women with FGM had nearly twice the rate of instrumental deliveries (27.6% vs 17.5%)
- Caesarean section rates were higher in the FGM group (23% vs 14.1%)
- Perineal trauma was significantly more common with FGM: first-degree tears (30.8% vs 20.8%), second-degree (13.9% vs 5.3%), and third-degree (3.1% vs 0.2%)
- Women with FGM had greater blood loss during delivery (297 cc vs 165 cc)
- Neonatal outcomes showed no statistically significant differences between groups
Limitations
The study was conducted at a single hospital in France and may not represent outcomes in settings with different healthcare systems or where FGM is more prevalent. The research describes associations between FGM and complications but does not examine mechanisms or long-term child development outcomes beyond the neonatal period.
Abstract
Objective Female genital mutilation (FGM) covers all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external genitalia for non-therapeutic purposes. The period of pregnancy and childbirth is probably more at risk of complications for these women. The main aim of this study was to compare obstetrical, maternal and neonatal outcomes in patients with a history of female genital mutilation with patients without such a history. Methods All deliveries taking place between January 2005 and June 2022 at Besançon University Hospital in patients with a history of FGM were included. This group was compared with a randomly selected group of deliveries of patients with no history of FGM. A total of 87 deliveries with a history of FGM were included and compared with 696 deliveries with no history of FGM. Results There were significantly more instrumental deliveries (27.6% vs. 17.5%, P=0.01), more caesarean sections (23% vs. 14.1%, P=0.01), more episiotomies (9.2% vs. 0.7%, P<0.01), more first-degree perineal tears (30.8% vs. 20.8%, P=0.02), second-degree (13.9% vs. 5.3%, P<0, 01), third-degree (3.1% vs. 0.2%, P=0.02), more anterior perineal tears (23.1% vs. 2.5%, P<0.01), increased duration of pushing efforts (13 min vs. 10 min, P=0.05) and greater blood loss (297 cc vs. 165 cc, P<0.01) in the group with a history of FGM. There was no statistically significant difference in neonatal outcome. Conclusion The obstetrical prognosis of patients with a history of FGM is significantly poorer. Neonatal prognosis remains unchanged.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
Problem
Complications during pregnancy and childbirth for women with a history of female genital mutilation
- Intervention
- Routine obstetric and neonatal care for deliveries
- Population
- 87 women with history of FGM delivering at Besançon University Hospital, compared with 696 women without FGM history
Key finding
Instrumental delivery rate 27.6% with FGM vs 17.5% without (P=0.01)