Perception and experience of menopause among primary school teachers in Jos North, north central Nigeria

Background: As life expectancy increases,most women spent a larger part of their lives in the post-menopausal state,with part of this during the peak of their career for working class women. Perception, attitude and experience of the menopause and its transitional period may differ from one female population to the other.Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the perception and experience of menopause among a group of educated Nigerian career women, and how menopausal symptoms affect their family relationship and work performance.Method: This was a cross sectional study.Two hundred and twenty five post menopausal primary school teachers in Jos North were administered structured questionnaires.The information obtained were analysed using Epi info 2002 statistical software.Results: Most of the women (99.1%) felt that menopause was a natural process of aging.The most frequently reported symptoms were low backache or muscle pains (72.9%),poor memory or forgetfulness (63.6%),hot flushes (51.1%) and tiredness (49.8%). Over half (55.6%) of the women were sexually active with 84.8% of them reporting reduced libido.Over half (56%) of the women studied felt that menopause negatively affected their work performance.Only 8% of the women had heard of hormone replacement therapy.Conclusion: Post-menopausal primary school teachers in Jos North have a positive perception of menopause. Menopausal symptoms are also common and this negatively affects work performance in quite a number of them.Keywords: Perception,Experience,Menopause,Primary school teacher

Pregnancy outcome among patients with sickle cell disease in Jos, north central Nigeria

Background: With advances in management, education, awareness and improved nutrition, men and women with sickle cell disease are enjoying an improved quality of life well into adulthood, when they elect to plan a family. As a result, sickle cell disease is a common haemoglobinopathy encountered during pregnancy in Nigeria. Reports from other parts of the country have documented increased maternal andperinatal morbidity and mortality, but none has been reported from Jos.Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of pregnancy outcome in patients with sicle cell disease managed at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos over a 5year period was carried out. Data extracted from patients' case files were analysed using simple statistical methods with Epi info 2002 statistical software.Results: Case files of patients with sickle cell disease in pregnancy during the period under review were retrieved. The mean maternal age was 25.1±3.9 years. The mean gestational age at booking or first presentation was 19.3±7.7 weeks. The antenatal complications included anaemia (62.9%), vaso-oclusive (bone pain) crisis (58.1%), intra uterine growth restriction (45.7%), pregnancy induced hypertension and malaria 25.7% each. The maternal and perinatal mortality rates were 53 and 384 per 1000 live births respectively.Conclusion: Pregnancy in sickle cell disease patients is associated with high maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality as reported in other parts of the country. The importance of early presentation for antenatal care and a call for preconception care is made.Keywords: Pregnancy, outcome, sickle cell, disease, Jo