PERCEPTION OF WOMEN OF CHILDBEARING AGE (15-45years) ON CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF INFERTILITY IN OSOGBO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Infertility brings about low self-esteem, sense of powerlessness, discrimination and stigmatization as well as threatens the woman’s identity, status, marital and emotional security. This study examined the perception of women of childbearing age on causes and consequences of infertility. A descriptive non experimental research design was used. A sample frame of 40 respondents was selected using purposive sampling technique among women of childbearing age. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Three null hypotheses were tested using student t-test at 5% level of significance. The study revealed that irregular sexual intercourse, irregular menstruation, untreated sexually transmitted diseases, late marriage especially above 30years of age, fibroid, low sperm count, unsafe abortion, and promiscuity were factors contribute immensely to increase infertility rate. Majority of the respondents opined that infertility could result in divorce or separation of couple which can lead to extinction of that family name, husband’s family inherit his property after his death, polygamy or polyandry, loss of hope, lack of joy and happiness in the family. The findings of this study revealed that there is no significant difference in the age religion of women under study and their perception on causes and consequences of infertility with t-calculated>t-tabulated (2.54 > 4.3); as well as, there is no significant difference was found between the age at marriage of women under study and their perception on causes and consequences of infertility with t-calculated>t-tabulated (2.56 > 4.3). The results also revealed that there is significant difference in the religion of women under study and their perception on causes and consequences of infertility with t-calculated<t-tabulated (7.64 < 4.3). It was concluded that sound family life education should be given to the public especially women and adolescents teenagers with emphasizes on causes, prevention and management of infertility

Student nurses’ practices and willingness to teach relatives breast self-examination in Nigeria

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death for women worldwide. Breast self-examination (BSE) is an essential, low-cost, and simple tool for detecting breast cancer early. Employing the idea of ‘charity begins at home’ by involving student nurses in teaching BSE to relatives will improve early detection. Aim: To assess nursing students’ practice and willingness to teach BSE to their relatives. Setting: A college of nursing and midwifery in one state under North-Central Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed. Through incidental sampling technique 197 respondents were selected from the first to the third year. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential analyses, with a p-value of 0.05 were conducted. Results: Respondents indicated where they learned about BSE. There were 98.5% respondents who had heard about BSE, and 89.8% of them had good practice of BSE. However, a quarter did not teach BSE to relatives. There were no statistically significant associations noted. Conclusion: Most of the nursing students were aware of BSE and knew how to perform it, although a quarter did not teach BSE to their relatives. Therefore, it may be necessary to sensitise nurses to cultivate the habit of teaching BSE to relatives and women in the community. Contribution: It is crucial to provide nurses with the skills and knowledge required to carry out BSE effectively, as well as teach women how to perform it on themselves, to improve breast cancer detection rates in Nigeria

Determinants of Contraceptive Options among Postpartum Women Attending Selected Health Care Facilities in Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Differences in availability and choices of contraceptive methods among postpartum women have been found to influence their quality of life as the fertility rate is very high, and the contraceptive usage rate persistently remains low in Nigeria. Objectives: This study assessed the determinants of contraceptive options among postpartum women in Nigeria. Methods: Two Local Governments were randomly selected from the four Local Governments. Within these two local governments, five health facilities were selected. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the 240 respondents, while a structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: Findings from the study indicated that 81.7% of the respondents have planned to have their current baby, and about 65.4% of the women have resumed sexual activities since delivery. Of those who have resumed sexual activities, the majority, 91.1% did so 6 weeks after delivery. Some form of contraceptive usage was prominent among 59.2% of the respondents, as the most common contraceptive method used was withdrawal (24.8%). Contraceptive prevalence was slightly lower for urban respondents than rural respondents, although the relationship was not significant. Also, there was a statistically significant relationship between the current use of contraceptives and resumption of sexual activities since delivery (p = .001), resumption of menstruation (p = .001), and information received about postpartum family planning (p = 0.013). Conclusion: Findings from this study emphasize the urgent need for enhanced accessibility and availability of contraceptive methods, with a parallel emphasis on targeted interventions and effective communication strategies to promote contraceptive uptake and family planning. Addressing these determinants is vital in improving postpartum women's overall quality of life in the study area

Student nurses’ practices and willingness to teach relatives breast self-examination in Nigeria

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death for women worldwide. Breast self-examination (BSE) is an essential, low-cost, and simple tool for detecting breast cancer early. Employing the idea of ‘charity begins at home’ by involving student nurses in teaching BSE to relatives will improve early detection. Aim: To assess nursing students’ practice and willingness to teach BSE to their relatives. Setting: A college of nursing and midwifery in one state under North-Central Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed. Through incidental sampling technique 197 respondents were selected from the first to the third year. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential analyses, with a p-value of 0.05 were conducted. Results: Respondents indicated where they learned about BSE. There were 98.5% respondents who had heard about BSE, and 89.8% of them had good practice of BSE. However, a quarter did not teach BSE to relatives. There were no statistically significant associations noted. Conclusion: Most of the nursing students were aware of BSE and knew how to perform it, although a quarter did not teach BSE to their relatives. Therefore, it may be necessary to sensitise nurses to cultivate the habit of teaching BSE to relatives and women in the community. Contribution: It is crucial to provide nurses with the skills and knowledge required to carry out BSE effectively, as well as teach women how to perform it on themselves, to improve breast cancer detection rates in Nigeria

From cassava to gari: Mapping of quality characteristics and end-user preferences in Cameroon and Nigeria

User's preferences of cassava and cassava products along the value chain are supported by specific root quality characteristics that can be linked to root traits. Therefore, providing an evidence base of user preferred characteristics along the value chain, can help in the functional choice of cassava varieties. In this respect, the present paper presents the results from focus group discussions and individual interviews on user preferred quality characteristics of raw cassava roots and the derived product, gari, ‐ one of the major cassava products in Sub Saharan Africa ‐ in major production and consumption areas of Cameroon and Nigeria. Choice of cassava varieties for farming is mainly determined by the multiple end‐uses of the roots, their agricultural yield and the processing determinants of roots that support their major high‐quality characteristics: size, density, low water content, maturity, colour and safety. Processing of cassava roots into gari goes through different technological variants leading to a gari whose high‐quality characteristics are: dryness, colour, shiny/attractive appearance, uniform granules and taste. Eba, the major consumption form of gari in Cameroon and Nigeria is mainly characterized by its textural properties: smoothness, firmness, stickiness, elasticity, mouldability. Recommendations are made, suggesting that breeding will have to start evaluating cassava clones for brightness/shininess, as well as textural properties such as mouldability and elasticity of cassava food products, for the purpose of supporting decision‐making by breeders and the development of high‐throughput selection methods of cassava varieties. Women are identified as important beneficiaries of such initiatives giving their disadvantaged position and their prominent role in cassava processing and marketing of gari

Factors Influencing Midwives' Attitude Towards Women In Labour In Selected Hospitals In Niger Delta Region Of Nigeria

The positive attitude of midwives is an essential factor in the utilization of maternal health services by pregnant women. This hospital based cross sectional study was conducted to explore the factors influencing midwives’ attitude towards women in labour in selected hospitals in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select 200 respondents from two tertiary hospitals. Data were collected with a validated structured questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was done using SPSS (version 21). Majority of the respondents were between the ages of 35-44 years. More than half 118 (61.1%) were registered nurse-midwives which is the least qualification among respondents with 77 (61.1%) having 6-10 years working experience. The study revealed that the factors influencing midwives’ attitude towards women in labour based on responses were: number of midwives to clients 187 (96.9%), workload of the midwives 187 (96.9%), incentives 182 (94.3%), adherence/non-adherence to midwives instructions 176 (91.2%), hospital environment 171 (88.6%), hospital equipments169 (87.6%), therapeutic communication between the midwife and patient 169 (87.6%) and the individual personality 163 (84.5%). Furthermore, the respondents identified employment of more staff 188 (97.4%), good remuneration and incentive 176 (91.2%), provision of adequate equipment and materials 170 (88.1%), proper monitoring and supervision of midwives 140 (72.5%), as well as training and retraining of midwives 128 (66.3%) as ways of improving midwives attitude toward women in labor. Conclusively, midwives have the necessary qualifications and experiences needed to care for women in labour effectively, but certain factors influence their attitude either positively or negatively. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that periodic assessment of midwives and what motivate them should be considered by the hospital management and government in order to encourage them to have the right attitudes towards women in labour. Key words: Attitude, Factors, Midwives, Labour, Women, Hospitals, Nigeri

Usability of metadata analysis of goat genetic resources among five countries from Africa, Asia and Europe: Metadata analysis of goat genetic

Abstract. Goats play a variety of roles all around the globe due to their capability to acclimatize different environmental conditions quite quickly since they have been regarded as one of the first sets of animals domesticated by the human. Even though domestic goats harbor precious genetic materials, research funding among developing countries is a major drawback for thorough study on them. Therefore, microsatellite markers seem to be affordable and informative. Genotypic data from different goat breeds across five countries (Nigeria, South Africa, Pakistan, France and Spain) was generated using eleven microsatellite markers for a comparative study in order to evaluate the usefulness of the available data for genetic characterization and identify the shortcomings of meta-analyses for combined data. The mean number of alleles (MNA) per population range from 6.44±2.83 alleles for Spanish to 10.25±0.96 for Pakistani goats, with an overall mean of 13.55±7.28. Observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranges from 0.61±0.02 to 0.83±0.01 for Spanish goats and Pakistani goats, respectively with an overall mean of 0.65. Ho of the markers used ranged from 0.569 (INRA5) to 0.793 (MM12). Highest and least polymorphic information content (PIC) was observed in loci MM12 (0.925) and MAF209 (0.489), respectively. All the populations showed significant change from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P>0.05) indicating a low level of inbreeding. The genetic distance of each country’s goat populations ranged from 0.151 to 4.245. The highest genetic distance (4.245) was observed between Spanish and Pakistani goats while the lowest were observed between Spanish and French goats. Spanish and French goats are from a common ancestor while South African, Nigerian and Pakistani goats came from another ancestor or cluster. A lot of genetic admixture in the Nigerian ecotypes has been observed whereas France and Saudi Arabian breeds have been subjected to high amount of selection pressure