The Pattern of Female Genital Mutilation in Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria

Aims: Female genital mutilation is a harmful traditional practice which is an infringement on the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls and has profound psychosocial as well as reproductive health morbidities. This study aimed at measuring the change in the incidence of the female genital mutilation in Port Harcourt, South-South Nigeria.
Study Design: A cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of ObstetricGynaecology of the University Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) between 1st January and 31st January 2009. Methodology: Five hundred clients were selected randomly and agreed to participate in the study. They were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and examined clinically. Data management was with SPSS 15.0 for Windows statistical software.
Results: The prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM) was 34%. Four hundred and eighty one (96.2%) were aware of female circumcision generally. Ninety five (55.8%) of those circumcised, had it done in infancy. Thirty seven percent of the practitioners of female circumcision were traditional birth attendants while 14.7% were trained health professionals. The commonest reason for female circumcision included reduction of sexual passion/promiscuity and conformity with tradition. Type 1 female genital mutilation was the commonest (58.2%). Among those clients aged 50 years and above, 78.8% had FGM while 9.1% of those aged 10 – 19 years had FGM. This showed a downward trend.
Conclusion: Female circumcision is a harmful traditional practice which has remained a serious health problem. Its prevalence is still high in our environment. This study suggests that it is on a downward trend.