Uptake of Antenatal Care Among Pregnant Women in Plateau State Nigeria

Background-Antenatal care offers pregnant women promotive, preventive and curative services. Despite this, some pregnant women still donrsquot access ANC at all while others donrsquot have access to ANC by skilled health care professionals. This increases the risk of maternal morbidity and mortality. This study therefore aims to determine the predictors of ANC attendance among in Plateau State. Methodology-A community based cross sectional study,400 study participants across six communities in the three senatorial zones in Plateau State were selected. Focused Group Discussion was conducted among study participants. Data was analysed using SPSS version 23. Results- 90.8% of respondents booked their last pregnancy out of which 55.8% had more than four ANC visits. Only 52.9% of the women had ANC by skilled health care providers. 69.7% of women who did not book their pregnancy delivered at home. Educational status, marital status and marital setting were predictors of ANC attendance among the study population. Women who had formal education were 1.7 times more likely to attend ANC compared to those with non-formal or no education at all. (P-value lt0.001 CI 1.267-2.321). Also, women in monogamous settings were more likely to attend ANC compared to those in polygamous setting (P-value 0.015 CI 0.162-0.822). Conclusion-Many of the respondents did not have the required number of ANC visits.nbsp More targeted interventions should be implemented in order to ensure that women have access to skilled care during pregnancy as this will reduce the risk of complications in pregnancy and delivery

Profile of congenital heart disease in infants born following exposure to preeclampsia.

BackgroundEvents in pregnancy play an important role in predisposing the newborn to the risk of developing CHD. This study evaluated the association between maternal preeclampsia and her offspring risk of CHD.MethodsThis is a cohort study of 90 sex-matched neonates (45 each born to women with preeclampsia and normal pregnancy) in Jos, Nigeria. Anthropometry was taken shortly after delivery using standard protocols. Echocardiography was performed within 24 hours of life and repeated 7 and 28 days later. SPSS version 25 was used in all analyses. Statistical significance was set at pResultsCongenital heart disease (CHD) was observed in 27 (30.0%) of newborns of women with preeclampsia compared with 11 (12.1%) of newborns without preeclampsia (pConclusionCHD may be more common in newborns of women with preeclampsia underscoring the need for fetal and newborn screening for CHD in women with preeclampsia so as to improve their infant's well being