Objective: To determine the incidence of maternal mortality associated with eclampsia and to determine how sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the women infl uence the deaths. Methodology: Records of 52 eclampsia-related mortalities from January 2003 to December 2007 were reviewed, retrospectively. Their social demography, mode and place of delivery, time of eclampsia, and fetal outcome were extracted for analysis. Results: Eclampsia accounted for 52 (46.4%) of the 112 total maternal deaths recorded within the 5-year period, with case fatality of 22.33%. Age group <20, 20-29 and above 30 all had similar case fatality rate of 22.1%, 23.8% and 26.7%, respectively. Those who were experiencing their fi rst deliveries have the worst deaths recording 42.5% of the case fatality in that category. As expected, unbooked had higher case fatality of 24.0% compared to 15% among booked cases, while those with no formal education also had more death (22.3% case fatality) as compared to 3.3% among those who had some form of formal education. Antepartum eclampsia was the cause in 50% of the death, 11(21.2%) of the pregnancies were not delivered before their death, while 18 (34.6%) were stillbirth. Conclusion: Eclampsia still remains the major cause of maternal mortality in this region resulting from unsupervised pregnancies and deliveries. There is need to educate and encourage the general public for antenatal care and hospital delivery.Keywords: Eclampsia, maternal mortality, northern Nigeria Résumé objectif: pour déterminer l'incidence de la mortalité maternelle associés à éclampsie et pour déterminer comment caractéristiques sociodémographiques et cliniques de l'infl uence de femmes le décès. méthodologie: dossiers de de 52 éclampsie mortalité connexe de janvier 2003 -décembre 2007 ont été examinées rétrospectivement. Leur démographie sociale, la mode et le lieu de livraison, temps de éclampsie et le résultat du foetus ont été extraits pour analyse. résultats: éclampsie ont représenté 52(46.4%) de décès maternels total 112 enregistrés dans les cinq ans période, en cas de décès de 22.33 %. groupe d'âge < 20, all 20-29 et au-dessus de 30 avait même taux de létalité de 22.1 %, de 23,8 % et de 26,7 % respectivement. Ceux qui éprouvaient leurs premières livraisons ont les pires décès enregistrement 42,5 % de l'affaire accidents mortels dans cette catégorie. Comme prévu unbooked avait supérieur cas de décès de 24,0 % comparativement à 15 % parmi les cas un avertissement, alors que celles sans aucune l'éducation formelle a également eu plusieurs décès (22,3 % cas mortel) par rapport à 3,3 % Parmi ceux qui avaient une forme de l'éducation formelle. Antepartum éclampsie a été la cause de 50 % de la mort, 11(21.2%) de la grossesse n'étaient pas livrés avant leur mort, alors que 18 (34,6 %) ont été mortinaissance. conclusion: éclampsie demeure toujours la principale cause de mortalité maternelle dans cette région résultant Annals of African Medicine Vol. 8, No. 2; 2009:81-84 Original Article

Maternal mortality continues to be a problem in the developing world, and unfortunately few pregnant women receive antenatal care (ANC) from skilled attendants in this region. It is known that men play a significant role in the health-seeking behavior of their families. Their involvement in ANC services may lead to improved women’s clinic attendance and maternal health. This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to determine the proportion of husbands in Maiduguri, North-eastern Nigeria that accompanied their wives to ANC clinic, discussed issues related to pregnancy with them, and also the factors that influenced this role. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to recruit 307adult males, 18 years and above, who had fathered at least one child in the last two years preceding the study. Data were collected using pre-tested researcher-administered questionnaires designed from USAID Compendium of Indicators for Evaluating Reproductive Health Programs, and Health Belief Model of Health Behavioural Change Theory. The data was entered into the IBM SPSS software version 20.0 (New York, 2011). An analysis was performed to identify variables that suggest a significant association using Odds ratio and p-value <0.05 at 95 % confidence interval. Out of the 307 respondents recruited, 225 (73.3 %) were involved in ANC services. Educational status beyond primary school level, Christian faith, having means of transportation and couples making a joint decision on ANC were significant predictors for husband’s involvement in ANC services(P<0.05). Similarly, a good condition of ANC services and spending less than 30 minutes waiting for consultation (P=0.008) were significant health-related predictive factors.

Maternal mortality continues to be a problem in the developing world, and unfortunately few pregnant women receive antenatal care (ANC) from skilled attendants in this region. It is known that men play a significant role in the health-seeking behavior of their families. Their involvement in ANC services may lead to improved women’s clinic attendance and maternal health. This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to determine the proportion of husbands in Maiduguri, North-eastern Nigeria that accompanied their wives to ANC clinic, discussed issues related to pregnancy with them, and also the factors that influenced this role. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to recruit 307adult males, 18 years and above, who had fathered at least one child in the last two years preceding the study. Data were collected using pre-tested researcher-administered questionnaires designed from USAID Compendium of Indicators for Evaluating Reproductive Health Programs, and Health Belief Model of Health Behavioural Change Theory. The data was entered into the IBM SPSS software version 20.0 (New York, 2011). An analysis was performed to identify variables that suggest a significant association using Odds ratio and p-value <0.05 at 95 % confidence interval. Out of the 307 respondents recruited, 225 (73.3 %) were involved in ANC services. Educational status beyond primary school level, Christian faith, having means of transportation and couples making a joint decision on ANC were significant predictors for husband’s involvement in ANC services(P<0.05). Similarly, a good condition of ANC services and spending less than 30 minutes waiting for consultation (P=0.008) were significant health-related predictive factors.

Background: Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) is an uncommon complication of pregnancy. It is of clinical and epidemiological interest partly because of its good prognosis if detected and managed early. Objective: This study was to determine the prevalence, clinical presentation, management outcome and histologic types of GTDs at University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria. Methodology: A five-year retrospective study of histologically confirmed cases of GTDs managed in UMTH was undertaken. Folders of patient treated for GTD during the study period served as source of data. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Results: There were a total of 47 (38 molar and 9 choriocarcinoma) cases of GTDs that were diagnosed and managed at UMTH. However, only 40[31(77.5%)] molar and [9(22.5%) choriocarcinoma] case files were retrieved. 55% of the GTDs were complete hydatidiform mole, 22.5% partial hydatidiform mole and 22.5% choriocarcinoma. There was no case of invasive mole or placental site trophoblastic tumour noted. There were 15,426 deliveries in UMTH during this period giving the incidence of GTDs as 3.0 per 1000 deliveries or 1 in 328deliveries. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 30.5 ± 5.6years. Only 3(7.5%) of the patients were below 20 years of age and those who were at least 40 years of age constituted 8(20%). Low parity constituted 62.5% of the patients while 12.5% and 2.5% were nullipara and primipara respectively. The mean gestational age (SD) at presentation was 16.5±6.2 weeks. The common clinical presentations were amenorrhoea (100.0%), abnormal vaginal bleeding (97.5%), lower abdominal pain (90%) and passage of grape-like vesicles (45.0%). Only 6(15.0%) complied with the follow-up protocol for one year, while 25(62.5%) of the patients did not observe the follow-up protocol. Anaemia was the commonest complication observed. Conclusion: Gestational trophoblastic disease is relatively common in our center with an incidence of 3.0 per 1000 deliveries and 1.48% of our gynaecological admissions. Adequate patient counseling and compliance to follow-up are recommend for good outcome. Keywords: Prevalence, gestational trophoblastic disease, Hydatidiform mole, Choriocarcinoma, Maiduguri.