Prevalence of Anaemia in Pregnancy Women: A Case Study of Women Attending Antenatal Clinic – Dawakin Kudu General Hospital, Kano State, Nigeria

This work on prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy women at Dawakin Kudu General Hospital, Kano, was carried out purposely to determine the haematocit values, and to see whether it is advisable to prescriber supplement iron and folate in the form of tablets to pregnant women. Blood samples were collected from 100 percent women attending the hospital. The blood sampes were analyzed. Questionnaires were also used, purposely to reinforce the results obtained from haematocrit method. The haematocrit values obtained show that pregnant women were not affected by previous birth, level of education to some extent and age group of pregnant women. The mean PVC falls within 25.25% - 32.75% of the total number observed. The total mean PVC is 27.02%. Keywords: Haematocrit, blood, anaemia, pregnant women

Comparative study of age variations andhuman serum creatine, urea and uric acid levels in pregnant women at different trimesters of pregnancy

This study is designed to evaluate human serum levels of creatinine, urea and uric acid in the different trimesters of pregnancy. A total number of 120 subjects were recruited from primary health care centres in Ekpoma [30 pregnant women for each of the trimesters (3x30=90) and 30 non-pregnant women serving as the control]. Venous blood samples were taken from all the subjects to determine the mean serum creatinine, urea and uric acid. The method used in the measurement of creatinine was the modified alkaline picrate method while the Urease-Berthelot’s method and the enzymatic colorimetric method (uricase) were used for the measurement of urea and uric acid respectively. The results showed that there was significant decrease (p<0.05) in the serum creatinine, urea and uric acid levels between the different trimesters and as compared to control values. It was also observed that the levels of creatinine and uric acid under the age range of 26-35 years were significantly lower (p<0.05) than 18-25years and 36-45 years, while the levels of urea across the various age groups were not significantly different (p>0.05). Conclusively, human serum creatinine, urea and uric acid levels decrease in pregnancy but progressively increase towards term.Key Words: Pregnancy, Creatinine, Urea, Uric aci

Dimensions and Determinants of Early Childhood Health and Mortality Among American Slaves

This paper relies on birth and death lists from plantation records to investigate the causes of low birth weight and poor health of young slave children. The sources of deprivation can be traced to the fetal period. The slave work routine was arduous overall and particularily intense during planting, hoeing, and harvesting. These demands combined with seasonal fluctuations in disease and in the quality of the diet implied that few newborns had escaped stress on intrauterine growth. Starchy food supplements given soon after birth and poor sanitation surrounding feeding provided a poor environment for growth during the first year of life.

Intubation with polyvinyl chloride tubes in young children

A case report of a 2.5 year old girl is presented. The girl was admitted to Victoria General Hospital, Gozo, suffering from laryngotracheitis. When her situation got worse, as she started having repeated bouts of laryngeal obstruction with deep cyanosis, restoration of the airway was imperative and it was decided to intubate. The child was quieted down with Fluothane using a Schimmelbusch mask, oxygen being administered throughout. A polyvinyl chloride tube, size 00, was passed nasally and was guided through the glottis with ease; the whole procedure (i.e. anesthesia, intubation) taking less than 90 seconds. The child quickly regained consciousness, did not become restless and soon went into a restful sleep with good normal pulse. In this case study, intubation was meant as a life-saving effort, a technique which has proved remarkably effective and complication-free.peer-reviewe

Оcобливості жирової тканини у вагітних з ожирінням

Мета роботи: встановити особливості структури вісцеральної і підшкірної жирової тканини у вагітних з ожирінням. Матеріали та методи. У 50 жінок з ожирінням досліджували підшкірну жирову тканину і тканину сальника, шматочки якої отримували під час операції кесаревого розтину за згодою жінок. При мікроскопічному дослідженні зрізів використовували фарбування гематоксиліном і еозином. Підшкірна жирова тканина сформована з часточок різної величини, межами яких були сполучнотканинні прошарки, в яких проходили судини. Жирові часточки містили клітини різної величини: полігональні, округлі, овальні. Цитоплазма клітин при використаному забарвленні порожня, ядро зрушено на периферію. При дослідженні вісцерального жиру з сальника, його клітини мали менші розміри, ніж клітини підшкірного жиру, переважно мали овальну форму. Жирова тканина містила велику кількість судин різного типу

Platelets and leucocyte counts in pregnancy

A study involving the obstetric clinic population of 3 major teaching hospitals of Karachi has been conducted to define changes in leucocyte and platelet counts as pregnancy progresses. 573 “normal” pregnant women - 183 in the first trimester, 195 in the second trimester and 194 in the third trimester were included in this analysis. We have found leucocytosis to be a feature of normal pregnancy; the change is subsequent to a progressive increase in granulocytes. Platelet counts were found to decrease slightly as pregnancy progresse

Profiling of urinary metabolites in human pregnancy

Maternal urinary metabolites (organic acids and steroids) in human pregnancy were profiled by gas-chromatographic methods. Urine specimens were collected from pregnant women at two time intervals in gestation (12½-15½ weeks and 24½-27½ weeks). A group of nonpregnant women was also investigated. The 24-hour urinary creatinine excretion was used as a check of the completeness of urine collections. Urinary organic acids were isolated by anion-exchange chromatography (DEAE-Sephadex A-25). Urinary steroids and steroid conjugates were isolated by adsorption onto a neutral resin (Amberlite XAD-2). Steroid conjugates were hydrolyzed by enzymes from the digestive juice of the snail, Helix pomatia. Purified urinary organic acid and steroid extracts were methoximated and trimethylsilylated for gas-chromatographic analysis. Urinary acid profiles contained 50 recognizable peaks, 10 of which were unequivocally identified by mass spectral analysis (lactic acid, glycolic acid, sulfate, phosphate, erythronic acid, threonic acid, hippuric acid, citric acid, glucuronic acid, and uric acid). Urinary steroid profiles contained 16 recognizable, peaks, although only one peak was identified by mass spectral analysis (pregnanediol). The metabolite profiles were assessed for effects of diet, drugs, and intestinal microflora. Twelve acidic metabolites were excreted in greater amounts by pregnant women compared to nonpregnant women. Four acidic metabolites were excreted in greatly increasing amounts as pregnancy progressed: lactic acid, glycolic acid, the 4-deoxytetronic acids (only tentatively identified), and erythronic acid. Whereas lactic acid excretion was highly variable, the excretion of glycolic acid, the 4-deoxytetronic acids, and erythronic acid increased simultaneously. The possible significance of these alterations in the urinary acid profile in pregnancy was discussed. Organic acid excretion in several cases of high-risk pregnancy showed slight deviations from the normal profile. Urinary steroid excretion increased conspicuously as pregnancy progressed. The steroid metabolites could not be accurately quantified due to a lack of resolution with the present gas-chromatographic system. The present method would prove useful when large deviations in steroid excretion were to be confirmed. Urinary organic acid-steroid profiling may not find application in health assessment of the general population, but the technique holds exciting possibilities for the assessment of certain high-risk pregnancies. The present work provides reference profiles which form a basis for future comparisons

Birthweight. Update based on original article by Alison Macfarlane

This article discusses definitions of birthweight, including extreme values of birthweight distributions, factors associated with differences in birthweight distributions and their associations with the outcome of pregnancy and the development of statistical approaches to compare birthweight distributions and to detect outliers to inform clinical practice

Maternal weight gain in second and third trimesters and their relationship with birth weights in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania

A prospective study was carried out to determine the relationship between weight gain in the second and third trimesters with the corresponding birth weights in Morogoro, Tanzania. A total of 270 pregnant women who gave birth to singleton deliveries and their consecutive newborns were randomly selected from among women who were attending one antenatal clinic. Average weight gains in second and third trimesters were 2.45 ± 0.68 and 2.14 ± 0.43 kg, respectively (a total of 4.59 ± 1.11 kg) for the two trimesters. Weight gains per week were 0.47 ± 0.16 and 0.33 ± 0.13 kg for the second and third trimesters, respectively. Weight gain in the two trimesters was lower than the expected value for the same period. Results from Pearson correlation analysis found a positive correlation (

Infertility in fertile couples

A paper read at the Annual Conference of the Society for the Study of Fertility, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 11th July, 1968. In selecting this title for my brief contribution I felt that a little time of this Conference could deservedly be devoted to the plight of those married couples whom we know to be fertile who yet remain childless. It is in this sense that I speak of infertility in those cases where the husband's semen is normal, the wife ovulates regularly, and indeed fertilization occurs repeatedly, but where yet the pitiful couple continue to yearn for a viable child. Too many childless couples actually owe their plight to recurrent abortion. This is particularly tragic because here the deficiency is not one of ovulation or fertilization. At a time when abortion is so readily treated with depot progesterone, it is important to realize that three causes of habitual abortion are: Congenital malformation of the uterus, cervical incompetence and intra-uterine adhesions. Heterography is indicated routinely after two spontaneous abortions.peer-reviewe