Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with an increased risk of medical complications during pregnancy and they constitute a very high-risk group with associated increased maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality especially in a low resource setting. Objective: To determine the pregnancy outcomes among women with sickle cell disease delivered at Alex Ek

Background:Threatened miscarriage is the commonest complication of pregnancy and has been aBackground: Threatened miscarriage is the commonest complication of pregnancy and has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the association between threatened miscarriage and adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes.Methods: This was a retrospective case-control study undertaken at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki. The study involved 228 women presenting with threatened miscarriage in the first trimester and 228 asymptomatic matched controls. The statistical analysis was done using Epi info version 7.1.5, March 2015 (CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA).Results: Women with threatened miscarriage were more likely to have preterm delivery (OR = 7.1, 95% CI = 3.51-14.32, P <0.0001), placenta praevia (OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.13 - 5.26, P = 0.03), placental abruption (OR = 3.6, 95% CI = 1.40 - 9.03, P = 0.01) and retained placenta (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.18 - 6.97, P = 0.02). Similarly, women with first trimester threatened miscarriage were more likely to develop postpartum haemorrhage (OR = 2.4, 95%               CI = 1.17 - 5.06, P = 0.02). There was no significant differences in the stillbirth rate, Apgar scores at 5 minutes less than 7, admission into neonatal intensive care unit and early neonatal death. Threatened miscarriage was associated with intrauterine growth restriction (OR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.77 - 6.88, P <0.0001) and low birth weight <2.kg                 (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.33 - 7.69, P = 0.01).Conclusions: Women with threatened miscarriage in the first trimester are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and the risk factors should be taken into consideration when deciding upon antenatal surveillance and management of their pregnancies.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginal discharge in women of child bearing age. About half of these women are asymptomatic. Adverse outcomes are consistently associated with bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy and in the puerperium. This study, which was done to look at the prevalence, involved recruiting 230 participants, and screening them for BV using the Amsel's criteria. It is hoped that identification and treatment of these women will help prevent some of the sequela associated with BV. Restoration of the vaginal microflora by treating identified cases of BV will also help reduce the transmission of HIV and herpes simplex virus (HSV) as BV propagates their replication and vaginal shedding. Two hundred and thirty women in the age range 16 -40 years were screened for BV. All the participants douched, soap and water being predominantly used. 55 women (23.9%) had BV based on Amsel's criteria. Women with only one sexual consort had the highest incidence of BV (51.9%).

Objective To determine the normal range of shock index (SI), blood pressure (BP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) among postpartum women in a low‐resource setting. Methods In a prospective cohort study, vital signs were recorded 1 hour after delivery among postpartum women with normal blood loss who delivered in Abakaliki, Nigeria, from April to July 2019. Results Among 225 women, the median (95% reference range) was 120 (100–155.8), 70 (60–94), and 90 (66.5–116.6) mm Hg for systolic BP, diastolic BP, and MAP, respectively; 82 (65–102) bpm for HR; and 0.69 (0.48–0.89) for SI. The upper SI limit of 0.89 supported the current value of 0.9 as the upper limit; however, the lower SI limit of 0.48 corresponded to the current lower limit for a non‐obstetric population (0.5). The SI of more than half of the study women (n=126; 56.0%) was within the normal range for non‐obstetric women (0.5–0.7). Conclusion Although hemodynamic changes in pregnancy widen the SI range, 56.0% of women maintained SI within the non‐obstetric reference range. In low‐resource settings, the current normal obstetric SI range of 0.7–0.9 should be revised to 0.5–0.9 to accommodate this lower threshold.

Background: The Federal Teaching Hospital is the only tertiary hospital in Ebonyi State Nigeria. It receives referrals from the general and private hospitals, primary health centers in the state as well as the surrounding state. Breast feeding is a social norm among the indigenes of the state hence practiced commonly. Aim: The study was aimed at determining the knowledge and practice of exclusive breast feeding among the women presenting in the hospital. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in the maternity unit of the hospital over three months' period from March to May 2015. A structured data sheet was administered to each mother presenting in the maternity unit of the hospital and willing to participate which were consecutively recruited into the study. Results: A total of 500 mothers participated in the study. About 98.4% were aware of exclusive breast feeding while 90.2% practiced it for different reasons and duration. Only 76.4% practiced it for a period of 4 -6 months. Majority of the mothers (90.0%) got the information about exclusive breast feeding from the hospital. Times of initiation of breast feeding after delivery were 38.2% within 30 minutes and 33.2% an hour respectively. Seventy six percent of the mothers' breastfed on demand. About 91.6% were willing to practice exclusive breast feeding for subsequent babies. Surprisingly 10.2% of the mothers discarded their colostrums. Practice of exclusive breast feeding was significantly related to educational status and occupation. Conclusion: Greater awareness and practice of exclusive breastfeeding has been achieved but more still needed to be done especially about the time of initiation, giving of colostrums and the duration of exclusive breast feeding since up to 10.4% of the participants still discarded their colostrums particularly those that delivered outside the hospital.