Abstract
Nigeria accounts for a considerable proportion of maternal deaths that occur annually worldwide. The study investigated the incidence of pre-pregnancy and pregnancy-related illnesses in women accessing antenatal care services at health facilities in Awka South Local Government Area, Anambra State. The study adopted cross-sectional research design. The population comprised 3,207 registered pregnant women from January to September 2012. The sample for the study consisted of 650 pregnant women. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered by the interviewers to women who had attended antenatal care services within six months prior to the date of data collection. Malaria (66.6%), morning sickness (58.0%), hyperemesis gravidarum (39.7%), sexually transmitted infections (28.6%), gestational diabetes (23.8%), pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (23.0%) and anaemia (15.8%) were the common illnesses in women. There were statistically significant differences in the women’s pre-pregnancy illnesses according to the level of education (p = 0.032) and pregnancy-related illnesses according to age (p = 0.023) and level of education (p = 0.045). It was concluded that the interplay of several factors is responsible for the incidence of pre-pregnancy and pregnancy-related illnesses in women. Identification of these factors is expedient while scaling up of maternal health interventions; improved access and uptake of facility-based care hopefully, will drastically reduce morbid conditions in women and improve maternal and newborn outcomes. Key words: Prevalence, Pregnancy-related illnesses, antenatal care, maternal health.
Highlights
Illnesses during pregnancy portend severe threats to maternal and fetal health with adverse maternal, fetal and newborn health outcomes
This study investigated typologies of illnesses in pregnancy based on literature, which include: illnesses that are caused by pregnancy such as backache, pre-eclampsia, hyperemesis gravidarum, gestational diabetes (GDM); hypertensive disorders and pre-pregnancy illnesses which are made worse in pregnancy such as malaria, anemia, diabetes, hypertension, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), tuberculosis and depression
The findings are presented in three sections, which include: pre-pregnancy illnesses/medical conditions of pregnant women, reported pregnancy-related illnesses of pregnant women, and comparison of pregnancy-related illnesses based on maternal characteristics
Summary
Illnesses during pregnancy portend severe threats to maternal and fetal health with adverse maternal, fetal and newborn health outcomes. The burden of maternal ill-health extends beyond these complications and includes different short- and long-term morbid conditions that can result from acute obstetric complications or poor management at delivery (Gulmezoglu et al, 2004; Zwart et al, 2008; Lindquist et al, 2013). After the women have responded to questionnaire items, researchers and research assistants retrieved copies of the questionnaire from the women. The women were asked to indicate if they had suffered from any of the outlined illnesses six months prior to pregnancy. These included: malaria, anaemia, diabetes, hypertension, STIs, TB, sickle cell anaemia, urinary tract infections (UTIs) and asthma. The items were assigned dichotomous response of „Yes‟ or „No‟. A “Yes” response implied “experience of illness” while a “No”
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