Desire for prenatal gender disclosure among primigravidae in Enugu, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Prenatal gender disclosure is a nonmedical fetal ultrasonography view, which is considered ethically unjustified but has continued to grow in demand due to pregnant women's requests. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of primigravidae who want prenatal gender disclosure and the reasons for it. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of randomly selected primigravidae seen at Enugu Scan Centre. The women were randomly selected using a table of random numbers. RESULTS: Ninety percent (225/250) of 250 primigravidae who fulfilled the criteria for inclusion in this study wanted to know the gender of their unborn baby, while 10% (25/250) declined gender disclosure. Furthermore, 62% (155/250) of primigravidae had preference for male children. There was statistically significant desire for male gender (P=0.0001). Statistically significant number of primigravidae who wanted gender disclosure did so to plan for the new baby (P=0.0001), and those that declined gender disclosure "leave it to the will of GOD" (P=0.014). CONCLUSION: Ninety percent of primigravidae wanted gender disclosure because of plans for the new baby, personal curiosity, partner and in-laws' curiosity; moreover, some women wanted to test the accuracy of the findings at delivery and 62% of primigravidae had preference for male children. In view of these results, gender disclosure could be beneficial in this environment.

Postabortion care counseling practiced by health professionals in southeastern Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the practice of postabortion care (PAC) counseling among healthcare professionals in southeastern Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey conducted among healthcare professionals in Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria, in 2006. Participants were chosen using a multi-stage sampling technique. A pre-tested questionnaire assessing the practice of PAC counseling was administered. RESULTS: A total of 431 health professionals were questioned: 270 (62.6%) medical doctors and 161 (37.4%) nurses. Of 302 (70.1%) respondents who reported practicing PAC counseling, only 173 (40.1%) had received formal training. PAC counseling was most commonly practiced by health professionals working in the University Teaching Hospital (90.5%). It was also more commonly practiced by nurses in rural areas compared with nurses working in urban areas (75 [67.6%] vs 24 [48.0%]; P=0.02). CONCLUSION: A high proportion of health professionals reported practicing PAC counseling. However, less than half had received formal training in PAC counseling. An increased PAC training activity program, with an emphasis on counseling, is recommended for health professionals to improve the overall quality of PAC service delivery.

Factors associated with the use of maternity services in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria.

The maternal mortality ratio and other maternal health indicators are worse for developing countries than for the developed world due to improved access to quality care during pregnancy and especially at delivery in the industrialized world. This study was carried out to identify the factors which influenced choice of place of delivery by pregnant women in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria, and to recommend ways to improve women's access to skilled attendants at delivery. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered by interviewers to women who had delivered within 3 months prior to date of data collection. The response rate was 75.5% (n=1098). Of the respondents, 52.9% delivered outside health institutions and 47.1% in health institutions. The major factors influencing choice of place of delivery included promptness of care, competence of midwife/doctor, affordability, health education, 24 h presence of doctors, team work among doctors and presence of specialist obstetricians. There were statistically significant associations between choice of institutional or non-institutional deliveries and socio-demographic/economic factors such as place of residence (urban/rural), religion, educational status, tribe, marital status, occupational level, husband's occupational and educational levels, age and parity (p<0.05). We conclude that factors which will positively influence women to deliver in health institutions in Enugu, Nigeria include a variety of interacting social, economic and health system factors, which operate at various levels-the household, community, the health institutions and the larger social and political environment. Attention to these factors will not only improve maternity utilization but, hopefully, also will reduce the high maternal mortality and improve other maternal health indicators in the study area.