Vol. 4, Issue 10, Part F (2018)

Abstract
Introduction: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a condition of vaginal flora imbalance, in which the typically plentiful Lactobacillus are scarce and other bacteria, such as Gardnerella vaginalis, and anaerobes (e.g. Mobiluncus, Bacteroides), are overly abundant. BV has been related to many complications of pregnancy including PID, endometritis, amniotic fluid infection, preterm delivery (up to 40 percent of premature births), preterm labour, PROM, and, possibly, spontaneous abortion. Certain factors or behaviours that increase a woman’s risk of BV during pregnancy include race, sexual activity, socio-economic status, maternal stress. The present study aimed to screen both symptomatic and asymptomatic pregnant women for BV and to determine any associated risk factors. Materials and methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, a total of 160 pregnant women at various periods of gestation were screened for bacterial vaginosis by simple random sampling during their routine antenatal visits in District Headquarters Hospital, Chittoor. Informed consent was obtained and a pair of high vaginal swabs was collected aseptically from the study subjects, which was examined by direct wet mount and Gram-staining. The smears were then assessed according to Nugent scoring. A diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis was made based on the Nugent scoring and the gold standard clinical criteria (Amsel’s composite criteria).Statistical analysis was done using Chi square test and Fischer’s exact test by SPSS version 21. Results: Out of 160 patients, 28 pregnant women were found to have bacterial vaginosis (17.5%), out of which 67.8% were symptomatic. Significant proportion of these women belonged to low socio-economic status (P=0.1303) and were multigravida (P= 0.0003). However there were no significant differences in results with respect to age and trimester of pregnancy. Positive cases of BV correlated with women who gave history of contraceptive use other than condom. Discussion & Conclusion: The incidence of BV in this study was found to be 17.5% which correlates with the reported prevalence rate of 10-35%.Women of lower socioeconomic status have shown significantly higher rate of BV probably due to psychosocial stress as has been reported previously. Multigravida have been found to have higher incidence of BV as with previous studies, which is probably due to increased sexual exposure and increased contraceptive use. Condom usage is known to have decreased risk for BV which correlates with the findings of this study. As prevention of BV is cost effective to minimize the pregnancy-related complications. We recommend all antenatal patients should be screened for the presence of bacterial vaginitis and a follow up of these pregnant women to determine the consequences on Maternal/Fetal Outcome.