Religion and Female Genital Mutilation as Correlates of Maternal Mortality in Ekiti State

Abstract

This study was to examine religion and female genital mutilation as correlates of maternal mortality in Ekiti State. The study adopted descriptive research design of the survey type which comprises of all 654 health personnel (Doctors and Nurses) in the seventeen (17) general and three (3) specialist hospitals in Ekiti State. The doctors (60 of them) were purposively and proportionately selected from the population while simple random sampling techniques was adopted in selecting 490 Nurses, making a total of 550 samples. A self-structured questionnaire titled: Religion and FGM as Correlates of Maternal Mortality (RFGMCMM) was used for data collection which were analysed using descriptive statistics (Charts) and inferential statistics of Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was also used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result showed that  there was high maternal mortality cases in Ekiti state and it is as a result of erroneous religion believe and holding to old practice of female genital mutilation. Hence, it was therefore recommended that health workers and health professionals should map out an aggressive campaign and strategies to change the mind set of religious pregnant women by creating awareness on the need for regular antenatal care during pregnancy so that necessary anomalies would be corrected, hence reducing the menace of maternal death. Also, female genital mutilation should be totally condemned. Parents should be educated on the danger and consequences of this act hence averting possible complications during child delivery in the long run.

DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/76-08

Publication date:June 30th 2020