Access to Contraception amongst Female Adolescents: Rivers State Study

Introduction:The importance of contraception amongst adolescents cannot be over-emphasized especially as it concerns reproductive health. Globally, these group of persons are vulnerable and engage in high risk sexual behaviour with little or no access to contraception particularly in the developing countries of the world.Aim: To determine the access to contraception amongst female adolescents in Rivers State. Methods:It was a cross sectional study of female adolescents attending holiday camp in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Questionnaires were distributed and information coded and analysed using SPSS version 22.Results:One hundred questionnaires were distributed and 89 retrieved. The mean age was 16 ± 2 years. Fifty seven (64.0%) were in secondary school while 32(36.0%) of the adolescents were undergraduates. Twelve (13.5%) were sexually active compared to 69 (77.5%) who were not sexually active, 8 (9%) were non respondents to this question. One (1.1%) of the adolescents had access to contraception while 85 (95.5%) had no access to contraception, 3 (3.3%) did not give any response as regards to access to contraception or not. The media was the most common means of information 25 (28%) on contraception.Conclusion: The study revealed that access to contraception amongst female adolescents in Port Harcourt was poor. Enlightenment programme is highly recommended to prevent unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and other adverse effects on reproductive health.

Obstructed Labour and Maternal Outcome at the Intensive Care Unit of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital: A Ten Year Review

ntroduction:Obstructed labour is a major cause of maternal mortality. Admissions into the intensive care unit (ICU) especially for post-delivery monitoring and treatment of patients with obstructed labour entails critical care for favourable outcome for the mother.Aim:To evaluate the maternal outcome of mothers admitted into the intensive care unit who had obstructed labour at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH).Methodology:The study was a retrospective study of all the cases of obstructed labour admitted into the ICU of UPTH between 1stJanuary, 2007 to 31stDecember, 2016. Information were retrieved from the patients case note and analyzed using SPSS version 20.Results:A total of1549 patients were admitted into the ICU for the period under review, of which 218(14.1%) were obstetric admissions. One hundred and forty were unbooked mothers while 78 were booked. The mean age was 30 ± 2 years and the modal parity was 2. All the 64 cases of obstructed labour were unbooked mothers and comprised 29.4% of the obstetric admissions. The number of maternal deaths from obstructed labour were 23, which comprised of 10.6% of the obstetric admissions. Conclusion:The study revealed that the maternal deaths following obstructed labour admitted into the ICU was high. The reason is that these patients present late. There is therefore need for patients at risk of obstructed labour to register for antenatal care early and delivery conducted by skilledbirth attendant for improved outcome.