Acceptability of intrapartum ultrasound by mothers in an African population

Abstract

Introduction Intrapartum ultrasound is gaining high acceptance by many women as another method for assessing labour progression. Despite growing evidence of the effectiveness of ultrasound in labour, the acceptance of intrapartum ultrasound has not been previously investigated in black Africans. Aim This study aimed to determine women's acceptance of intrapartum ultrasound and their preference for transperineal ultrasound or digital vaginal examination (digital VE) in Ghana. Methods An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among mothers who had had both digital VE and transperineal ultrasound during labour in a tertiary hospital. Information about their sociodemographic characteristics, experience with, and preference for ultrasound or digital VE in labour using a pretested structured questionnaire was obtained. Their experiences were categorised as 'tolerable, 'quite uncomfortable' or 'very uncomfortable'. Categorical variables were compared using Fisher's exact test. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Altogether, 196 women were recruited into the study. The mean age of the women was 26.7 years (standard deviation, 4.6 years). Nearly half (47%) of the women had never delivered before. Significantly more women considered transperineal ultrasound to be more tolerable than digital VE (66% vs. 40%; p < 0.001). Almost all the women (97.5%) described their experience with transperineal ultrasound to be better than digital VE, and would choose transperineal ultrasound over digital VE in the future (98.5% vs. 1.5%; p < 0.001). Discussion The findings of this study are comparable to those of other related studies reported recently. This research confirms high acceptance of ultrasound in labour by mothers from different countries and across continents, implying that cultural differences do not influence women's responses to and interest in intrapartum ultrasound. Conclusion Most women found ultrasound in labour to be more tolerable than digital VE. Whenever possible, transperineal ultrasound should be provided as an alternative to digital VE during labour.

Transperineal ultrasound of fetal head progression in prolonged labor: women’s acceptance and ability to predict the mode of delivery

“…In this study, TPUS was done in a short time with less discomfort to the pregnant ladies as reported by all of the participants compared with the digital vaginal examination. Only few previous studies support this finding [12,17,21].…”

“…Moreover, various studies claimed that using digital pelvic examination during labor is inaccurate and misleading regarding deciding the mode of delivery. Misinterpretations are common, especially with the presence of fetal head molding and caput succedaneum [12].…”

“…Intrapartum TPUS has been successfully used for monitoring fetal head descent [4,12]. Kalache et al [1] published the earliest report correlating the angle of head progression with the delivery mode in the prolonged 2nd stage of labor.…”

Changes in pelvic floor mobility in uncomplicated pregnant women over 28 gestational week and its relation with subjective urinary incontinence complaints

“…The strengths of this study are its prospective nature and the use of pelvic floor ultrasound in transperineally approach. It is known that pregnant women find the transperineal ultrasound more comfortable than digital examination (23). This approach may become more common in the research settings, and therefore should be studied more extensively.…”

Feasibility, Reliability, and Agreement of Transperineal Ultrasound Measurement: Results from a Longitudinal Cohort Study

“…However, vaginal examination has several limitations, in-DOI: 10.1159/000507549 cluding operator dependence with significant inter-and intraobserver variability [1,2]. In addition, repeated vaginal examinations can increase the risk of chorioamnionitis [3][4][5][6][7] and can cause significant discomfort [8,9].…”