Characteristics of VVF patients as seen at the specialist hospital Sokoto, Nigeria.

This paper is a preliminary report of a longitudinal study of VVF patients seen at the specialist hospital Sokoto, Nigeria. Thirty-one (31) patients admitted into the VVF ward during the period, May 1996 to April 1997 were studied. The patients were mainly Hausa/Fulani Muslims (100%), short-statured (mean height, 149 cm), full-time house wives (100%) and were married at the mean age of 13 years. Only 6% of the patients could read or write in English while 81% had Quranic school education only. 60% of the women live in rural communities which lacked, or remotely located to appropriate health care services. Most of the cases developed the disease at the mean age of 15 years. Majority of the cases (77%) did not receive antenatal care while the mean duration of labour for all the patients was 4 days. 84% of the patients were eventually referred to hospital for delivery. Pregnancy wastage rate was 87%. Averagely, twenty-six, (84%) of the patients have had 3 surgical repairs done. Divorce rate following the occurrence of the disease was 55%. Our recommendations include: the integration of maternal and child health (MCH) education in the curriculum of Quranic schools, and advocacy for free antenatal care and delivery services at the primary and secondary levels of health care, special health education programs on maternal health for religious leaders, training of more personnel, and bringing MCH services closer to the grassroots.