The knowledge and prevalence of induced abortion among female undergraduates at a tertiary institution in Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria

Background: Abortion is a sensitive and contentious issue with religious, moral, cultural, and political dimensions. Induced abortion especially when unsafe can endanger a woman’s reproductive health and lead to serious life-threatening complications and even death. This study was aimed at determining the knowledge and prevalence of induced abortion amongst female undergraduates at a tertiary institution in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out on 303 female undergraduate students at the University of Port Harcort in November 2019. Data was collected using structured self-administered questionnaires and the information obtained was analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0.Results: Majority of the respondents (93.1%) had good knowledge of abortion and most of them (96.4%) knew abortion as termination of pregnancy while 84.8% knew it to be illegal. Also, 25.7% had previously been pregnant with 79.5% of such pregnancies ending in induced abortion. This study noted that the age, level of study, religion, residence and family status of the respondents significantly influenced the practice of induced abortion (p<0.05).Conclusions: There was good knowledge of abortion and the complications of unsafe abortion among the respondents; however, many of them who had previously been pregnant had unsafe abortions. More awareness creation on the dangers of unsafe abortion and use of contraceptives especially the barrier methods among young people will significantly reduce the menace of unsafe abortion with its attendant complications.

Uterine Fibroids and Pregnancy: A Review of the Challenges

Uterine fibroids are quite common in women of the reproductive age group and as such commonly encountered in pregnancy. Though majority of these cases are asymptomatic, some are prone to developing complications and may end up having adverse outcomes in pregnancy. Management of these women with uterine fibroids presents its own challenges, especially in low-resource setting as in sub-Saharan Africa, where the condition is rife. Adequate management of these women, be it pregnant or nonpregnant, improves their quality of life

Factors influencing women’s choice of health care provider during childbirth in Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria

Background: Maternal mortality is high in sub-Saharan African countries. Maternal deaths are preventable if births are attended by skilled health care providers who can manage complications promptly when they arise. Some women however patronise traditional birth attendants who contribute to maternal mortality in Nigeria due to their inability to manage complications during and after delivery. The aim of this study was to ascertain the factors influencing women’s choice of healthcare provider during childbirth and their effect on maternal mortality in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to elicit information from mothers attending postnatal and immunization clinics at University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information and the data collected was analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 22 and presented as frequencies and percentages in tables and charts.Results: The study revealed that 90.5% of the respondent’s identified obstetricians as the most skilled for delivery and most (91.5%) had utilized their services. Majority (93.5%) had good perception about obstetricians, 54.5% were not satisfied with the cost of their services stating that it was expensive. Some factors identified to influence delivery with TBAs were cheap services, ignorance, belief system, easy accessibility, availability and lesser time consumption.Conclusions: Cheap TBA services attracted women to their utilisation. Reduction in the cost of modern obstetric services will enhance their utilization, improve obstetric outcome and reduce maternal deaths

Utilization of malaria prophylaxes amongst Nigerian Urban antenatal population

Background: The recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) towards preventing malaria and its effects in pregnancy is the utilization of a combination of interventions such as sleeping under insecticide treated nets (ITNs), Intermittent Preventive Treatment in pregnancy (IPTp), insecticide room spraying (IRS) and effective case management and treatment. All these strategies have been adopted in Nigeria through a national policy on malaria treatment and prophylaxis. Despite these interventions, the high prevalence of malaria in pregnancy continues to rise in Nigeria, with the attendant cost in human lives and economic loss1,2. There is therefore need to determine the level of public awareness and utilization of these preventive measures. The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and the use of known interventions towards preventing malaria in pregnancy prior to registration for antenatal care.Methods: Four hundred women were recruited by simple random sampling for this study. They were interviewed using a semistructured questionnaire to obtain information on their socio-demographic characteristics, their pregnancy, knowledge on malaria and its prophylaxis in pregnancy.Results: Many (51.6%) of the respondents registered for antenatal care after 20 weeks of gestation. Though majority (79.8%) rightly associated malaria with mosquito bite, only a few (15. 75%) of the respondents had ever used insecticide treated nets to prevent mosquito bites in their lifetime and only 1% used it the night before joining this study. About 27.5% of them were already on self-administered malaria chemoprophylaxis before registration.Conclusion: Over one half of these women register late for antenatal care. The attitude of the pregnant women towards malaria prevention prior to registration for antenatal care is poor even though they have adequate knowledge of the cause of malaria and its prevention.Keywords: Malaria Prophylaxis; Insecticide Treated Bed Nets; Antenatal Population; Sulphodoxine-Pyrimethamin

Knowledge and practice of the ideal birth interval amongst parturients attending primary health centre Aluu, Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: Birth interval is a period for the mother to heal completely from the events of pregnancy. Short birth interval (&lt;24 months) is associated with grave consequences on maternal and child health and the impact is more on families with poor socioeconomic status. Aim was to assess the knowledge and practice of ideal birth interval amongst parturients at primary health centre- Aluu. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge and practice of ideal birth interval and its health benefits among parturients attending primary health centre, Aluu in September, 2021. The data was collected using structured self-administered questionnaires, analysed with SPSS version 23.0 and presented in tables and charts. Results: Knowledge of ideal birth interval among the respondents was 68.3%. Regarding its benefits, 34.2% of the respondents knew that it replenishes lost nutrients, 20.2% knew it prevents anaemia, 24.7% knew it improves pregnancy outcome while 67.7% knew that it helps in financial planning. Only 42.86% of the respondents practised ideal birth interval, 47.6% had discussed it with their health worker and 89.1% said it should be included in the routine antenatal teachings. Many (41.8%) of the respondents did not use any form of contraception. Conclusions: There was poor knowledge of the health benefits of ideal birth interval and less than half of the respondents practiced ideal birth interval and contraceptive use. Therefore, there is need for more education by health care workers on ideal birth interval and its benefits and the use of modern contraceptive methods during routine antenatal teachings

Antenatal care at rivers state university teaching hospital, southern Nigeria: who and when?

Background: Antenatal care prepares pregnant women physically and psychologically for birth and parenthood. It also prevents, detects and manages health problems affecting mothers and their babies. Objectives were to identify and characterise those attending antenatal care at RSUTH and when they register for antenatal care. Methods: A retrospective study conducted from 1st January, 2015-31st December, 2020 at ANC of RSUTH. Records of 9990 pregnant women who booked for antenatal care were retrieved and reviewed. Socio-demographic characteristics and gestational age at booking were studied. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. P value &lt;0.05 was statistically significant. Results: During the study period, 9990 pregnant women booked for antenatal care. Most (23.3%) registered in 2016. Mean age at booking was 31.4±4.7 years. Highest age group (62.4%) was 30-39 years. Modal parity was para 0 and majority (37.5%) were para 2-4. Mean gestational age at booking was 20.5±7.5 weeks. More than 70% had tertiary education and 67.9% were traders and civil servants. More than 97% were married and 58.3% registered in their second trimester. When gestational age at booking was compared with the various socio-demographic parameters, those with the differences statistically significant and associated with late booking were educational level, age, parity, occupation and employment status. Conclusions: Most women at booking were in their thirties, second trimester, married, multiparous, working class and had tertiary level of education. Most socio-demographic parameters showed statistically significant differences when compared with the gestational age at booking

Depression in pregnancy and the puerperium in a tertiary health facility in Nigeria. A neglected area of practice

BACKGROUND: Depression is common in pregnancy in high-income-countries but rarely spoken about in Nigerian Tertiary Obstetric Centres.OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to ascertain the prevalence and risk factors for major depression in pregnancy and puerperium at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and determine awareness of it among obstetricians.METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study.Two hundred and five women from the obstetric and paediatric wards and clinics were interviewed in two stages.In the first stage,data on their socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric and medical history was collected while in the second, which followed immediately after the first, the MINI international neuropsychiatric questionnaire was used to collect data which was analysed on SPSS-19 software.RESULTS: The prevalence of major depression in pregnancy and the puerperium was 9.76% but there was variation in the antenatal and postnatal periods of 9.57% and 16.98% respectively. The factors that were independently associated with major depression in pregnancy were domestic violence (P=0.008), single mothers (P=0.038) and past episode of major depression (P= 0.001).CONCLUSION: Irrespective of the high prevalence of major depression in the pregnant population at the UPTH, obstetric practitioners are not aware of it.There is therefore the need for continuous medical and health education in mental health problem in pregnancy.KEYWORDS: Depression,Pregnancy,Puerperium,Health,Nigeria,Neglec