Features and Patterns of Primipara Delivery in a Cameroon Semi-Rural Area: The Case of Ayos Locality

Introduction: The delivery of a primipara, a woman giving birth for the first time, is challenging and may lead to complications and influence the obstetrical future of a woman. Materials and Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional and analytical study at the maternity of the regional hospital annex of Ayos, a semi-rural locality in Cameroon, for the period between January 2012 and December 2020. The objective was to determine the frequency and the determinants of primipara delivery. Results: We recruited 440 cases. The frequency of primipara delivery was 31.8%. The ages of the participants ranged from 12 to 35 years with a mean age of 18.01 ± 3.52 years. Single women contributed to 95.5% of cases while 97.5% were unemployed. The delivery occurred at term in 90.2% and 98.4% of pregnancies were singleton. The delivery was vaginal in 91.6%, while caesarean delivery was done in 8.4% (8% emergency and 0.4% elective). The most frequent maternal complications were genital tract tears (15.7%), post-partum hemorrhage (12.5%) and endometritis (2.7%). The birth weight of newborns ranged from 1070 to 4500 g with a mean of 3024.5 ± 511.4 g. The single marital status, a gestational age between 37 and 42 weeks and a birth weight between 1500 g and 2499 g were significantly associated with vaginal delivery. Conclusion: The frequency of primiparous delivery was relatively high (31.8%) in the Ayos semi-rural health district of Cameroon. Major complications associated with delivery included genital tract tears, post-partum hemorrhage, cesarean section and neo-natal infection.