Infertility is a medical and social problem which poses a serious public health problem worldwide. Women of reproductive age with infertility have social and psychological distress due to inability to achieve social role of motherhood.The rate of infertility in Africa was documented to be between the range of 8.6 to 21.5%. Aim: To determine the awareness ofinfertility amongst women of reproductive age in Rivers State Nigeria. Method: It was a cross sectional study of women of reproductive age who attended enlightenment campaign by the Mother and Baby Care Global Foundation. Information were coded and analysed using SPSS version 25. Results: Two hundred and fifty (250) subjects were enrolled for the study. The mean age was 24 ± 4 years. One hundred and fifteen (46%) were between ages 20 – 29 years, 30 – 39 years represented 85 (34%) of the, respondents 50 (20%) were between ages 40 – 49years. The respondents aware of infertility were 113 (45%). The educational status of the respondents were made up of tertiary and secondary levels of education 200 (80%) and 50 (20%) respectively. The highest level of awareness infertility was amongst women between ages 20 t0 29 years represented by 66 (26.3%) respondents. Conclusion: The study showed the level of awarenessinfertility among women of reproductive age as 45%. This was below average. Awareness campaign on infertility should be carried out by the government and non-governmental organisations on infertility and its impact on reproductive health especially as it affects the mental, physical, emotional and financial aspects of couples.

Background: The Rhesus-D negative blood group is not as common in Africans when compared to Caucasians thus the need to optimize surgical patients prior to surgical procedures. Blood group “O” Rh-D negative blood is a universal donor hence its importance in emergency situations where there is no time to type and cross match blood.This is because surgical patients may need blood transfusion pre-operatively, intra-operatively or post-operatively. Aim: To determine the prevalence of rhesus negative blood group in surgical patients in the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH). Method: This was a one-year retrospective study of surgical patients (Surgery and Obstetrics/Gynaecology departments) of the RSUTH. The patients comprised of all the consecutive cases of the surgeries in these departments for the period under review. Ethical clearance was obtained from ethical committee of the Rivers State Hospital Management Board. Structured profoma was used to extract information from patients’ case notes and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Result: A total of 370 patients were attended to pre-operatively. There were 146 (39.5%) males and 224 (60.5%) females. The mean age was 31 years. The age range was 22 years to 56 years. One hundred and ninety four (52.4%) were obstetrics and gynaecological surgeries while 176 (47.6 %) were non-gynaecological surgeries. The commonest indication for surgery was caesarean representing 126 (34.1%) of the subject.The distribution of Rh-D positive blood and Rh-D negative blood were 337 (91.7%) and 33 (8.9%) respectively. The prevalence of Rh-D negative blood group was 33 (8.9%) with blood group O Rh-D negative as the commonest 15 (4.1%). Conclusion: Our showed the prevalence of Rh-D negative blood group in surgical patients at the Rivers State Teaching Hospital as 8.9%. Rhesus–D “O” negative blood group was the most common representing 4.1% of Rhesus D-negative blood group. This makes it important in emergency surgical practice as universal donor when there may be to time for typing and matching prior blood transfusion.