Reproductive tract infections in pregnant women in Delhi, India

Abstract

In Delhi, India, a descriptive study was conducted to measure the prevalence of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) among pregnant women. A house-to-house survey identified 863 pregnant women between 24-28 weeks of gestation, 600 of these underwent clinical and laboratory investigations for RTIs. Socioeconomic class of these women was low; 40% of them had never been to school and nearly half the families had a per capita income < Rupee 6000/annum. Overall, 229 (38%) of women had laboratory confirmed RTI; 210 (35%) of them had lower RTI of vaginitis. Among those who had vaginitis or lower RTIs, only 110 (52.4%) reported having any vaginal discharge and 57 (27.1%) had discharges associated with itching or foul smell (15.6%). This study demonstrates that pregnant women in a low socioeconomic population suffer from a high burden of RTIs. In addition, it emphasizes that women's self-report of RTI during pregnancy should not be the only criteria for screening. Thus, research is urgently needed to develop simple, inexpensive and accurate tests that can be used for universal screening during pregnancy especially in developing countries.