Background. Anaemia with an estimated prevalence of 35–75% among pregnant women is a major cause of maternal deaths in Nigeria. Objective. To determine the prevalence of anaemia, associated sociodemographic factors and red cell morphological pattern among pregnant women during booking at the University Teaching Hospital, Uyo. Material and Methods. A cross-sectional analytical study of 400 women at the booking clinic over a 16-week period. The packed cell volume and red cell morphology of each pregnant woman were determined. Their biodata, obstetric and medical histories, and results of other routine investigations were obtained with questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS Package version 17.0. Results. The mean packed cell volume was 31.8% ±3.2 and 54.5% of the women were anaemic. The commonest blood picture was microcytic hypochromia and normocytic hypochromia suggesting iron deficiency anaemia. Anaemia was significantly and independently related to a history of fever in the index pregnancy (OR = 0.4; P = 0.00; 95% CI = 0.3–0.7), HIV positive status (OR = 0.2; P = 0.01; 95% CI = 0.1–0.6), and low social class (OR = 0.3; P = 0.00; 95% CI = 0.2–0.7). Conclusion. Women need to be economically empowered and every pregnant woman should be encouraged to obtain antenatal care, where haematinics supplementation can be given and appropriate investigations and treatment of causes of fever and management of HIV can be instituted.

Background: Malaria is the most common human parasitic disease and continues to be a complex and overwhelming global health problem, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Placental malaria, one of the major features of malaria in pregnancy has been associated with serious adverse health consequences to both the mother and her fetus. Objective: This study sought to determine the prevalence of maternal, cord, and placental malarial parasitaemia at parturition, the association between maternal and placental parasitaemia, and also the association between placental parasitaemia and pregnancy outcomes. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to study 330 pregnant women selected by the systematic random sampling technique as they presented in the labour ward of University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo between April, 2012 and September, 2012. Pre-delivery, maternal peripheral blood was taken for malaria parasite (MP) and packed cell volume (PCV). Post delivery, cord blood was taken for MP and PCV estimation while placental blood was examined for MP. Neonatal demographic and clinical characteristics were also obtained. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 17. Level of statistical significance was set at P less than 0.05 (P < 0.05). Results: The mean age of the respondents was 28.8 ± 4.4 years. The prevalence of maternal, cord, and placental parasitaemia were 30.3%, 14.8% and 18.2% respectively. There was a strong correlation between maternal parasitaemia and placental parasitaemia (rho = 0.75, P< 0.001). Also, a significant linear association between cord parasitaemia and placental malaria (rho = 0.87, p< 0.001) was found. Placental malaria predisposed to low birth weight (OR 1.01{95%CI 1.001 – 1.02}, p = 0.04) and fetal anaemia (OR 1.02{95%CI 1.01 – 1.03}, p < 0.001. Conclusion: There is a relatively high prevalence of placental parasitaemia at parturition. Placental malaria is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight, fetal anaemia and cord parasitaemia. Proven strategies to prevent malaria in pregnancy such as use of ITNs and IPT and free antenatal care should be intensified to curb this deadly but preventable disease.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v6i6.12401Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.6(6) 2015 53-59

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women receiving antenatal care at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 291 antenatal attendees over a period of 3 months. Blood samples from all consenting pregnant women were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody, hepatitis B envelop antigen and antibody, and hepatitis C antibody serum markers for HBV infection. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain sociodemographic data and the presence of risk factors. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS, version 17.0. Results: Twenty-three women (7.9%) tested positive for Hepatitis B core antibody, while 6 (2.1%) tested positive for HBsAg. None tested positive for Hepatitis B envelop antigen. Forty-one (14.1%) women showed evidence of post vaccination immunity while 8 (2.8%) had evidence of post-infection immunity. Two hundred and twenty-seven (78.0%) women were susceptible to HBV infection. Higher educational attainment correlated significantly with less risk of acquiring HBV infection (P = 0.003). Conclusion: Our study revealed an intermediate prevalence and low infectivity of HBV infection among our pregnant women. Government and non-governmental organizations should intensify efforts to create awareness about the disease through public enlightenment campaigns, as well as recall systems through systems of mobile communication.