Abstract:

Abortion has a long history and can be traced back to civilizations; and according to Wikipedia, it is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can be spontaneous, or induced. Spontaneous abortion, also known as miscarriage, is the unintentional expulsion of an embryo or fetus before the 20th to 22nd week of gestation. The most common cause of spontaneous abortion during the first trimester is chromosomal abnormalities of the embryo/fetus, accounting for at least 50% of sampled early pregnancy losses. Statistics collected from the Regional Hospital Bamenda (Cameroon) shows that in 2010, out of 360 cases of spontaneous abortion recorded 257 (71%) were threatened abortion out of which 103 (40%) ended in miscarriages, i.e. in the expulsion of the embryo or fetus. Similarly in 2011, out of 753 cases of spontaneous abortion registered, 545 (72%) were threatened abortion and out of which 208 (38%) ended in miscarriages.

“Do health care providers know their role in the prevention of spontaneous abortion?” The answer to this question will find its source in the attainment of the main objective which is to assess the knowledge of Health Care Providers on their role in the prevention of SA.

It is based on the Virginia Henderson conceptual model that we frame a directive pattern to this important project.

Man as an individual, is defined by Virginia Henderson as “a bio‐psychosocial being, a unified whole, and presenting with 14 fundamental needs. 2 of the needs will direct and make the cue of this study as follows:

·         Need to communicate with others

·         Need to learn and understand

The use of structured questionnaires helped to collect information from the respondents in order to reflect the specific objectives of the study. In assessing the knowledge of HCPs, only 16 responses were gotten, instead of 39 responses expected from them. This may show a lack of knowledge, even for those who said knew about. For the prevention of SA, it is observed that psychological care at the prenatal period may be out of practice. Only 2(8%) respondents talked of alleviating anxiety, forgetting that this should be coupled with education and adequate medication administration. To conclude, it is worth noting that HCPs are poorly knowledgeable on their role in the prevention of SA, thus contribute to less significantly in the decrease of its prevalence.

References:

[1.] Elizabeth J. Dickason, 1975. Maternal and Infant care. “A blakiston publication”, USA.

[2.] Douglas G. Wilson Clyne, 1959. A concise textbook for midwives, 1^st edition. 24 rural Square London.

[3.] Barbara F. Weller. Bailliere’s Nurses’ Dictionary for nurses and health care workers, 24^th edition. London, UK.

[4.] http://en.m.wikipedia.or/wiki/abortion

[5.] http://en.m.wikipedia.or/wiki/miscarriage

[6.] http://www.nejm.org/doi/full

[7.] http://apps.who.int/rhl/pregnancr_childbirth/antenatal_care/miscarraige/cd003511_thacht/en/index.html

[8.] http://www.planetwire.org/files.fcgi/3438_BPmal-Ma02e.pdf

[9.] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/artesunate#cite_note-8

[10.] http://www.patient.co.uk

[11.] http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medecines/100002213.html

[10.] somah@ncat.edu

[11.] www.google.com/fr