Assessment of pregnancy outcome with and without antenatal care

Women with poor attendance for antenatal care, have an increased risk of poor pregnancy outcomes. Antenatal care is an effective method of preventing adverse outcomes in pregnant women and their babies. To assess and compare the pregnancy outcome in women with and without antenatal care and to see its effects on maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. A descriptive observational study was carried out in Allied hospitals [Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi General Hospital and District Head Quarter Hospital of Rawalpindi Medical College] for a period of 2 months in 2008. All women coming to labor rooms, wards and emergency department of these hospitals for delivery were included in the study. Women who had at least 3 antenatal visits were categorized as [with antenatal care], while those with less than 3 antenatal visits as [without antenatal care]. A total of 170 mothers were seen at these hospitals in 2 months. Of the total, 137 [80%] received antenatal care and 33 did not. Of those who received antenatal care, 85% were immunized and 15% mothers who did not receive antenatal care were also immunized. Majority of women with antenatal care have had regular monitoring of blood pressure, weight monitoring, blood and urine tests during pregnancy. Forty seven percent mothers with antenatal care had spontaneous vaginal delivery with episiotomy as compared to 57.6% mothers without antenatal care who were delivered by caesarean section. Ninety seven percent and 85% newborns were delivered alive in the two groups respectively. Among mothers who received antenatal care, 87% had satisfactory pregnancy outcome and 13% had unsatisfactory outcome. Pregnancy outcome in women taking antenatal care is far better and healthy than those without antenatal care. Awareness about the effectiveness of antenatal care in safe mother and child delivery should be enhanced through various methods including media

Knowledge about leprosy in doctors of teaching hospitals of Rawalpindi

To assess the knowledge of doctors about leprosy. This was a qualitative study. Specially designed questionnaire based interviews were carried out in three teaching hospitals [Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi General Hospital and District Head Quarter Hospital of Rawalpindi Medical College] over 2 months [May-June 2008]. Doctors were interviewed irrespective of their qualification and experience using convenience sampling. A total of 136 doctors were included in the study, out of which 96 were simple MBBS, 34 had done FCPS-I and 6 were FCPS-II. Of the total 68 doctors, 38.2% had seen a case of leprosy whereas 61.8% had never examined a case of leprosy. Majority knew the commonly used drugs for leprosy and only 2.9% did not know them. Eighty two percent doctors knew the management of a suspected case of leprosy. Doctors had adequate knowledge about leprosy that was independent of their qualification and experience. Though leprosy has been eradicated from Pakistan but students and doctors still need to educated on this subject to keep them abreast about the subject