TITLE:
Maternal-Fetal Pregnancy Complications of in Minors Raped with or without Physical Restraint in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
AUTHORS:
Kiminyi Kalunga, Eloge Ilunga-Mbaya, Raha Maroy, Yoyu Tunangoya Jonathan, Nyakio Ngeleza Olivier
KEYWORDS:
Post-Rape Pregnancy, Minor, Associated Complications, Eastern DRC
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.13 No.1,
January
17,
2023
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Pregnancy resulting from rape is a public health and sexual and
reproductive health issue, especially among minors. Rape can be perpetrated
with or without physical restraint. The objective of the present study is to
highlight the prevalence of physical coercion leading to pregnancy and the
associated maternal-fetal complications. Methodology: This was a
comparative descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study of complications
associated with post-rape pregnancy by physical restraint among minors who were
treated at the General Reference Hospital of Panzi over a two-year period from
June 2020 to June 2022. A total of 140 minor survivors of violence with
pregnancy were included in the study. Data were collected using a
questionnaire, coded and analyzed in Excel and XLSTAT version 2014. Results: The prevalence of physical constraints was 65%. After mulltivariate
analyses, denial of pregnancy (ORa: 9.64 95% CI: 1.1 - 81.2; p-value: 0.0370),
attempted abortion (ORa: 56.1 95% CI: 1.5 - 2027.6; p-value: 0.0278) and
agitation during delivery (ORa: 88.7 95% CI: 4.5 - 1715; p-value: 0.0030) were
the complications associated with pregnancy in minors who experienced physical
restraint rape. In addition, BMI was a factor in reducing the risk of physical restraint rape at the ORa of 0.5054 [0.3; 0.8];
p 0.006). Conclusion: Pregnancy among minors is a reality and occurs in
a situation of physical coercion in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
These pregnancies are often associated with complications that require an
intensive management system since they can jeopardize the maternal-fetal
prognosis of minors.