Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2018 Jan 8;15(1):7.
doi: 10.1186/s12978-017-0442-y.

Characteristics of female sexual dysfunctions and obstetric complications related to female genital mutilation in Omdurman maternity hospital, Sudan

Khalid Yassin  1 , Hadeel A Idris  2 , AbdelAziem A Ali  3   4
Affiliations
Observational Study

Characteristics of female sexual dysfunctions and obstetric complications related to female genital mutilation in Omdurman maternity hospital, Sudan

Khalid Yassin et al. Reprod Health. .

Abstract

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a major public health problem, especially in developing countries.

Method: This was a prospective observational cohort study conducted over six months duration (1st July-31st December 2015) at Omdurman Maternity Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan, primarily to determine whether exposure to FGM/C (exposed Vs. non-exposed) and degree of exposure (type III Vs. type I) are associated with impaired sexual function or not?. As secondary objective, the study also investigated the association between FGM/C and postpartum complications (eg: difficulties in cervical examination, episiotomy wound infection, postpartum bleeding) by following the participants from the time of admission at the hospital, through vaginal delivery and until the 6th post-partum week.

Results: A total of 230 (subjected to FGM/C) and 190 (not subjected to FGM/C) women were approached. The clinical examinations evidenced that the majority (67.8%) had FGM type 3, while the remainder (32.2%) had type 1. The most common reported sexual complication was dyspareunia (76%). Bleeding following first attempt of sexual intercourse was reported in 35.2% followed by reduced sexual desire 62.6%, reduced sexual satisfaction 40.9% and need for surgery to release labial adhesions at first attempt of sexual intercourse 30.4%. With regard to FGM- related complications that occurred during labor 76.5% required an episiotomy, 61.7% experienced difficulties in cervical examination, 57.8% needed defibulations during second stage of labor, 26.5% complicated by episiotomy wound infection and 2.2% developed obstetric hemorrhage. In this study FGM/C was a significant factor increasing the risk of sexual complications. Interestingly when using logistic regression analysis the FGM-related complications were not significantly varied by FGM/C types.

Conclusion: Our observations indicate that FGM/C is a serious public health problem and there should be an urgent intervention such as planned health education campaigns to end FGM/C practice.

Keywords: Circumcision; Female genital mutilation; Sudan; Women health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ information

Khalid Yassin K is a professor of Obstetric and Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Alneelain University, Sudan., Idris H. A is specialist of Obstetric and Gynecology, Fedral Ministry of Health, Sudan., Ali A. A is a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Kassala University, Sudan.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

We obtained ethical approval for this study from the Ethical Committee at the Sudan Medical Specialization Board as well agreement was signed from the Medical director of the Hospital and the confidentiality was granted through and after the study. Informed and written consent was taken from all the participants concerning their participation in this study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

References

    1. WHO Press: World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland Available from: http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/fgm/9789241596442/en/.... Accessed 13 June 2012.
    1. Bjälkander O, Bangura L, Leigh B, Berggren V, Bergström S, Almroth L. Health complications of female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone. Int J Women’s Health. 2012;4:321–331. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S32670. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yoder PS, Khan S. Numbers of women circumcised in Africa: the production of a Total. Calverton, Maryland: Macro International Inc; 2007.
    1. UNICEF: Female genital mutilation/cutting: A global concern. 2016: New York. https://www.unicef.org/media/.../FGMC_2016_brochure_final_UNICEF_SPREAD.pdf.
    1. Nour NM. Female genital cutting: a persisting practice. Revs Obstet Gynecol. 2008;1(3):135–139. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms