Pregnancy Outcome Following Treatment of Premalignant Lesion of the Cervix in Southeast Nigeria; A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of cervical pre-cancers involves ablative and excisional therapies, and these have the potential to affect future pregnancy outcomes of women. Understanding the impact of the various treatment modalities on the outcome of pregnancies can motivate the development of interventions to improve pregnancy outcomes in women who had cervical pre-cancer treatment. AIM: We aimed to the effect of cervical pre-cancer treatment on second-trimester miscarriages and preterm births. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Matched case-control study in which 373 women who had a pregnancy after cervical pre-cancer treatment were matched with 373 controls. McNemar Chi-square was used to compare the prevalence of second-trimester miscarriage and preterm birth between the study group and the matched controls. Conditional logistic regression analysis was done to determine the risk factors for second-trimester miscarriage and preterm birth. RESULTS: Second-trimester miscarriages and preterm births were higher in women who had cervical pre-cancer treatment (AOR: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.174 - 3.693, p: 0.01) and (AOR: 2.74, 95% CI: 1.591 - 4.902, p: 0.0001) respectively. In addition, large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) of the cervix increased the odds of second-trimester miscarriage (AOR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.034 - 1.441, p: 0.019) and preterm birth (AOR: 2.98, 95% CI: 1.793 - 3.965, p: 0.001). Cryotherapy and thermocoagulation were not associated with increased miscarriage and preterm birth. Treatment to pregnancy interval of ≥ 12 months decreased the odds of second-trimester miscarriage (AOR: 0.605, 95% CI: 0.502 - 0.808, p: 0.031) and preterm birth (AOR: 0.484, 95% CI: 0.317 - 0.738, p: 0.001). CONCLUSION: There is an increased odds of second-trimester miscarriage and preterm birth in women treated with LLETZ. A treatment-to-pregnancy interval of ≥ 12 months reduces this odd. Ablative therapies do not increase the odds of miscarriages and preterm births. This information could guide decisions on the choice of method of treatment for cervical pre-cancer in women of childbearing age.

Women in southern Nigeria with change in paternity do not have increased incidence of pre-eclampsia.

This was a prospective cohort study of women in their second pregnancies aimed at determining if there was a difference in the incidence of pre-eclampsia between those with changed paternity and those without change in paternity in an entirely black African population. Women in their second pregnancies receiving antenatal care between September 2006 and August 2007 were recruited into the study between 10 and 20 weeks' gestational age and followed up until 37 weeks' gestation. The main outcome measures included incidence of pre-eclampsia in relation to change in paternity at second pregnancy, incidence of pre-eclampsia in relation to duration of sexual cohabitation among those with changed paternity and inter-pregnancy interval. There was no significant difference in the incidence of pre-eclampsia between women who had changed paternity and those without change in paternity (3.5% vs 3.1%, p=0.835). The inter-pregnancy interval was also similar in both groups. The mean duration of sexual cohabitation was similar between women who had changed paternity that developed pre-eclampsia and those that did not develop pre-eclampsia (7.9+/-1.3 vs 7.5+/-2.1 months, p=0.531). It was concluded that Southern Nigerian women with change in paternity in their second pregnancies do not have increased incidence of pre-eclampsia.