Search

Introduction Despite much emphasis on the reproductive health of women, maternal mortality is still high, especially in postnatal period. Objective To assess the prevalence of postnatal care use and reasons for defaults among mothers attending the child immunization clinics in Enugu, Nigeria. Methods This was a cross-sectional comparative study of 400 consecutive nursing mothers who presented at the Institute of Child Health of UNTH and ESUTH, Enugu for Second dose of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV2) for their babies at 10 weeks postpartum. Data was collected using Interviewer-administered questionnaire and subsequently analyzed with version 22.0 IBM SPSS software, Chicago, Illinois. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result The prevalence of the 6th week postnatal clinic attendance among the mothers was 59%. The majority of the women (60.6%) who had antenatal care by skilled birth attendants attended postnatal clinic. Unawareness and being healthy were the main reasons for not attending postnatal clinic. Following multivariate analysis, place of antenatal (OR = 2.870, 95% C.I = 1.590–5.180, p < 0.001) and mode of delivery (OR = 0.452, 95% C.I = 0.280–0.728, p = 0.001) were the only significant predictors of postnatal clinic attendance (p < 0.05). Conclusion Postnatal clinic attendance by women in Enugu is still suboptimal. The main reason for non-attendance of the 6th week postnatal clinic was lack of awareness. There is need for healthcare professionals to create awareness about the importance of postnatal care and encourage mothers to attend.

BackgroundTo our knowledge, there is no prior randomized trial on the efficacy of Mojeaga remedy (a special blend of Alchornea cordifolia, Pennisetum glaucum and Sorghum bicolor extracts) when co-administered with standard-of-care for correction of anemia in obstetrics practice. This study determined the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Mojeaga as adjunct to conventional oral iron therapy for correction of anemia in obstetric population.MethodsA pilot open-label randomized clinical trial. Participants with confirmed diagnosis of anemia in three tertiary hospitals in Nigeria were studied. Eligible participants were randomized 1:1 to either Mojeaga syrups 50 mls (200mg/50mls) administered three times daily in conjunction with conventional iron therapy (Mojeaga group) for 2 weeks or conventional iron therapy alone without Mojeaga (standard-of-care group) for 2 weeks. Repeat hematocrit level were done 2 weeks post-initial therapy. Primary outcome measures were changes in hematocrit level and median hematocrit level at two weeks post therapy. Maternal adverse events and neonatal outcomes (birth anomalies, low birthweight, preterm rupture of membranes and preterm labor) were considered the safety outcome measures. Analysis was by intention-to-treat.ResultsNinety five participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to the Mojeaga group (n = 48) or standard-of-care group (n = 47). The baseline socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the study participants were similar. At two weeks follow-up the median rise in hematocrit values from baseline (10.00±7.00% vs 6.00±4.00%;p0.05).ConclusionMojeaga represents a new adjuvants for standard-of-care option for patients with anemia. Mojeaga remedy is safe for treating anemia during pregnancy and puerperium without increasing the incidence of congenital anomalies, or adverse neonatal outcomes.Clinical trial registrationwww.pactr.samrc.ac.za: PACTR201901852059636 (https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/TrialDisplay.aspx?TrialID=5822).

Abstract Background Poor oral health in pregnancy can be associated with poor pregnancy outcome, however, dental consultation among pregnant women appears to be low. Methods This was a questionnaire-based study of 413 women who attended the antenatal clinic of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu. The information obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 22. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Only 36 (8.7%) of the respondents had dental consultations in index pregnancy for complaints such as tooth ache and decay (66.7%) and pain as well as swelling of the gum (33.3%). The most common reason given for not visiting a dentist during the index pregnancy was the visit not being relevant to their pregnancy outcome (69.2%). After counseling them, only 249 (60.3%) agreed to have dental consultation during subsequent pregnancies. The relationship between visiting the dentist and place of residence (

Introduction: Poor oral health status in pregnant women is known to be associated with poor outcomes in pregnancies. Despite this, the oral health status of pregnant women has been grossly overlooked during antenatal period. Aim: To determine the awareness and practices of oral health among pregnant women in Enugu, Southeastern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire based study of 413 women who attended the antenatal clinic of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla from January 2018 to May 2018. An interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaire which was pretested before the commencement of the study was used. The information obtained was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. A p-value of

Introduction: Low Birth Weight (LBW) is associated with poor health conditions during neonatal period, infancy and in adult life. It is possible that some form of fetal growth restriction occurs in babies of HIV sero-positive women. Aim: To determine the effect of maternal HIV infection on neonatal birth weight and other neonatal anthropometric indices. Materials and Methods: The study was prospective cohort in design. Neonatal birth weight, head circumference, and crownheel length of babies of 87 consecutive consenting HAART experienced HIV sero-positive pregnant women on HAART (study group) were compared with those of 92 matched HIV sero-negative women (control group). Data analyses were both descriptive and inferential at 95% confidence level. Results: The incidence of low birth weight was 25.3% (22/87) among the HIV sero-positive group and 14.1% (13/92) among the control group (p=0.060, R.R=1.8, 95% CI: 0.96-3.33). The mean neonatal head circumference in the study and control groups were 33.7±2.93 cm and 34.5±2.31 cm respectively, p=0.036 while the mean crown-heel length was 47.9±4.59 cm versus 48.7±4.02 cm, p=0.217. Conclusion: Maternal HIV treatment with Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) was not associated with high incidence LBW in Enugu, Nigeria. However, the head circumference was reduced. Careful measurement of the head circumferences of neonates of HIV sero-positive mothers, during routine new-born examination, is encouraged, so that any disproportionate growth would receive further appropriate assessment.

Introduction: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a major public health problem because of the enormous deleterious effects on a developing fetus. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is among the highest per capita rates of alcohol consumption in the world, thus suggesting a high burden of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD) in the sub-region. Despite this, there is limited data on alcohol exposed pregnancies for most SSA countries including Nigeria. Aim: To determine the prevalence and predictors of alcohol consumption during pregnancy in Enugu, South-Eastern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study of 380 consecutive consenting parturients accessing antenatal care at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. The information sought for, included the women’s socio-demographic characteristics, alcohol use in pregnancy, awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol on the babies including FASD, sources of initial information on awareness, type and quantity of alcohol ingested, reasons for taking alcohol and willingness to stop alcohol ingestion in pregnancy after counseling on the risk of alcohol use in pregnancy. Statistical analysis was both descriptive and inferential at 95% confidence level. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of alcohol consumption in pregnancy was 22.6%. The most common brand of alcoholic beverage consumed was stout beer (62.8%, 54/86). A total of 135 (35.5%) respondents were aware that alcohol is harmful to the fetus. Maternal age 30 years or less, nulliparity, less than tertiary education, pre-pregnancy alcohol consumption and lack of awareness of the harmful effect of alcohol on the fetus, were associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy (p< 0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy among women in Enugu, South-Eastern Nigeria is high and lack of awareness of harmful effect of alcohol on fetus was a major predictor. There is need for a concerted public health campaign to improve the awareness of harmful effects of alcohol on the fetus.