B P International

Background: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programmes provide antiretroviral treatment to HIV-positive pregnant women to reduce the likelihood of their infants acquiring the HIV. However despite concerted efforts to scale-up PMTCT services in Nigeria, the coverage and uptake of the service by pregnant women remain low.  Aim/Objective: This study was carried out to assess the utilization and factors associated with the uptake of PMTCT Services among pregnant women at a tertiary health facility in Akure, Ondo State. Methodology: This research was an institutional based descriptive cross-sectional study conducted over a period of one month (May 2018). The study population included pregnant women accessing antenatal care at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Akure, Ondo State. Data was collected using interviewer administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS Windows 20. The main outcome measured was the utilization of ...

Hepatitis B virus is a serious global public health problem and is endemic in Africa, including Nigeria. Infection of pregnant women during the second and third trimester poses a threat of 10 and 90% respectively for vertical transmission. A total of ninety two blood samples from consenting pregnant women were screened for HBsAg and HBeAg using ELISA kit (Cortez Diagnostic Inc, USA). Cord blood samples collected from five neonates of women positive for HBsAg and HBeAg were screened for HBcIgM using the same test kit. Questionnaire was used to collect data on demography, history of blood transfusion and presence of tribal mark from the pregnant women. Overall prevalences of 8.7% (8/92) and 5.4% (5/92) for HBsAg and HBeAg seromarkers, respectively were obtained. Mean age of the pregnant women was 25.75 with 27.2% within 20–24 years and 28.3% within 25–29 years, however this distribution was not statistically significant (p= 0.6840). Fifty percent (50%) of HBsAg positive women were with...

This was a cross sectional study designed to assess the level of awareness, ownership and use of insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs) by pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Anambra state, South Eastern Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was self administered to 700 volunteer pregnant women aged 17 to 45 years recruited during routine antenatal care in selected hospitals in the study area to capture information on use of ITNs. The information obtained was analyzed using simple ratios, percentages and charts. The result showed that 651 (93%) of the women were fully aware of the use of ITNs during pregnancy, 420 (60%) owned ITNs in their homes while only 308 (46%) used the nets partially or wholly, and 392 (56%) never used the nets. The level of awareness of pregnant women concerning the use of ITNs was high while actual ownership and use was low. Public health education needs to be intensified to create more awareness and increase ownership and use. Author(s) Details ...