Aims and objectives: To determine the knowledge, prevalence and psychological effect of miscarriage among women of reproductive age attending the obstetrics and gynaecology clinics of a tertiary healthcare facility in Lagos Nigeria.
Materials and methods: Study design was a descriptive cross sectional study and 300 respondents were enrolled. A pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire and Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL) authored by M. Zukerman and B. Lubin (1965) were used for data collection. Responses of the respondents on the knowledge of various aspects of miscarriage was scored and graded as good (e"50%) and poor (^ <50%). The study was carried out in February 2011.
Results: Response rate was 97%. Only 0.7% of the respondents were not aware of miscarriage. A total of 214(73.5%) of the respondents had good knowledge of miscarriage and the mean knowledge score (%) was 60.4 ± 22.1. Most common myth about the cause of miscarriage among the respondents was eating of snail (63.2%). About 49% of respondents who had ever been pregnant have had miscarriage. Approximately 1 in 3.7 pregnancies was miscarried. The level of emotional distress in terms of anxiety, depression and hostility is significantly higher in women who have had miscarriage than their counterparts who had not.
Conclusion: Level of knowledge of miscarriage was high though some miscarriage myths exist among the respondents. Approximately 1 in 3.7 pregnancies was miscarried. Miscarriage had negative psychological effect on women.