Awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding among mothers and its influence on the breastfeeding practices in Jos

Background: Breastfeeding is an effective intervention to reduce child morbidity and mortality. The third of ten steps to successful breastfeeding is to inform all pregnant mothers about the benefits of breastfeeding. This awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding bybreastfeeding/Nursing mothers may serve as a motivation for good breastfeeding practices. The aim of this study therefore was to determine awareness of breastfeeding benefits among nursing mothers in Jos and its relationship with selected breastfeeding practicesMethods: The cross-sectional study was carried out among 482 breastfeeding mothers in 6 immunization clinics in Jos. Information on sociodemographics, breastfeeding practices and Mothers' level of awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding. The awareness level was then graded good, fair and no awareness. Bivariate analysis was done using SPSS 21Results: Of the 482 nursing mothers interviewed, 77.6% were assessed to have good knowledge, 8% had fair, while 14.5% had no knowledge of the benefits of breastfeeding. Significantly more women of younger ages, lower socioeconomic status, lower education and unskilled had No awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding.Good breastfeeding practices and intention to breastfeed for more than a year were associated with good level of awareness.Keywords: Awareness, Benefits, Breastfeeding, Mothers, Influence, Practice

Relationship between maternal serum zinc, cord blood zinc and birth weight of term newborn infants in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

Background: Adequate in utero supply of zinc is essential for optimal fetal growth because of the role of zinc in cellular division, growth and differentiation. Low maternal serum zinc has been reported to be associated with low birth weight and the later is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in newborns. In Nigeria, where the prevalence rates of zinc deficiency among pregnant women, low birth weight and infant mortality are high; it will be useful to determine the relationship between maternal and cord serum zinc levels and birth weight.Methods: Across-sectional study of 190 mothers and their term babies. Blood samples were collected from the mothers and cord of the babies immediately after delivery for serum zinc analysis using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Babies' weights were measured within thirty minutes post-delivery.Results: The mean age of the mothers and gestational age of the babies were 28.29 ± 5.64 years and 39.2 ± 1.2 weeks respectively. The mean birth weight of the babies was 3106.7 ± 411.2 g; while the mean maternal and cord serum zinc concentrations were 48.5 ± 17.6 μg/dl and 99.3 ± 21.5 μg/dl respectively. There was no association between the maternal serum zinc and cord serum zinc (p = 0.62); and likewise maternal serum zinc and birth weight (p =0.99). However, there was a significant positive association between cord serum zinc and birth weight (p < 0.001, r = 0.02, p= 0.04).Conclusion: The study outcome suggests that cord serum zinc but not maternal serum zinc predicts birth weight. In spite of low maternal serum zinc level, an adequate amount of zinc could be transferred to the babies thereby preventing zinc deficiency in the babies and aiding their growth. More studies are needed on the mechanism of placental zinc transfer.Keywords: Maternal zinc, cord zinc, birth weight, Jos, Nigeri

HIV Prevalence in Vulnerable Children Living in Jos, Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria

Background: The lack of Parental supervision, including psycho social problems and decrease access to basic needs  such as food, shelter, clothing, education and health care are examples of the enormous challenges faced by Vulnerable children (VC). These challenges pushes VC to adopt survival and coping strategies, of which some are exposure variables of sexually transmitted infection including HIV infection. In addition, some of these children were orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV. As such, VC should benefit from a health provider initiated counseling and testing for HIV as recommended by the Nigerian HIV policy. However, focus on screening VC for HIV infection has been abysmal; it is on this premise that this study set out to determine the HIV prevalence of vulnerable children in Jos, Nigeria. Methods: Vulnerable children were sampled from 3 different institutions and from households in 3 different communities in Jos, Plateau State with the assistance of Non-Governmental organizations involved in the care of VC. All VC enrolled were interviewed, clinically examined and screened for HIV based on national protocol and standard. Data generated were analyzed using CDC epi info version 7. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of the 237 children enrolled 145 (61.2%) were male VC while 92(38.8%) were female vulnerable children, giving a male female ratio of 1.0: 0.6. HIV sero - positivity was identified in 9 of the 237 VC giving a prevalence of 3.8%, amongst the study subjects. Out of the 9 HIV positive VC, 7 VC (77.8%) were resident in institutions; only two household VC were HIV positive. There was no statistically significant association between place of residence, age of VC, gender and type of vulnerability and HIV status among the studied population. Conclusion: The HIV prevalence of 3.8% in vulnerable children is enormous and appears to be higher amongst children resident in orphanages than those in househol

(J. Human Lactation, 15:113-120)Content of lipid nutritients in the milk of Fulani women

International audienceSpits are present all along the Channel and Atlantic coasts of France. They belong to different types, depending on their composition and genesis. Some of them were initiated when RSL stabilized about its present level, 2,500 years ago. Many others are much more recent and were created when major land-use changes took place in mainland watersheds. Soil erosion increased the fluvial sediment supply and many river mouths were stabilized. All these spits continue to evolve under variable degrees of human control (mainly on sediment delivery). This paper present three examples (Arçay, Talbert, Cayeux) which illustrate the main types of issues faced by coastal planners dealing with spits in western France

Retrospective assessment of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the special care baby unit of a private health facility in Benue State, North Central Nigeria

Background: Newborn morbidity and mortality have remained unacceptably high in developing countries despite consistent efforts at controlling  the scourge. Unlike in developed countries where neonatal mortality rate ranges between 1 and 5 per 1000 live births, average neonatal mortality rate in Nigeria is 36 per 1000 live births. The majority of the causes of death are largely preventable with timely low cost interventions. This study was structured to determine the pattern of morbidity and mortality amongst babies admitted in the Special Care Baby Unit of Madonna hospital Makurdi, Nigeria.Methods: The records of neonates admitted into the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) over a tenyear period (2005-2015) were retrospectively reviewed. Information obtained included the sex, age at admission, gestational age, birth weight, reasons for admission and outcome of treatment.Results: A total of 1,121 babies were admitted during the period under review. The male female ratio was 1.2:1.The majority of the babies were aged between 2-7 days with a mean 6.17.+ 7.01 The mean weight on admission was 2807+907g. Neonatal sepsis, jaundice, low birth weight and birthasphyxia were the most common morbidities. The overall mortalityrate was 14.1%; however, proportionate mortality due to low birth weight was highest (26.4%), followed by tetanus (23.5%), asphyxia (20.8%), Respiratory tract infection (13.8%), meningitis (13.3%), sepsis (10.3%), jaundice (9.6%), and diarhoea (4.0%)Conclusion: Neonatal mortality rate in the study was high. The major causes of admission are preventable. Strengthening perinatal care, emergency obstetric care services and neonatal resuscitation skills are necessary to reduce the neonatal mortality. Key words: Neonate, Morbidity, Mortality, Nigeria&nbsp