Assessment of antenatal care satisfaction amongst postpartum women at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Background: Maternal mortality is unacceptably high especially in developing countries. About 287,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020. The vast majority of these deaths (95 %) occurred in low and lower middle countries in 2020 and most could have been prevented. Every day in 2020, approximately 800 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Utilization of antenatal visit has been shown to improve birth outcome as well as the maternal outcome during pregnancy-related events, giving a positive impact when the visit frequency and care are adequate while satisfaction has equally been an important outcome measures of quality of care. In order to improve feto-maternal outcome and turn the tide against maternal deaths, it is expedient to assess the satisfaction of women who had experienced antenatal care with the aim of identifying areas requiring additional attention. Objective: This study aimed to assess the level of antenatal care satisfaction of postpartum women and factors associated with satisfaction at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan and their future intention for subsequent utilization of antenatal care. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 261 women in the postnatal ward using simple random sampling technique was conducted with an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Items in the questionnaire included sociodemographic and obstetric variables, assessment of quality of amenities, waiting time and level of satisfaction. Data was entered, cleaned and analyzed by computer using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 23.0 (SPSS, IBM). The variables were summarized using frequencies, proportions, means and standard deviation. Chi Square was used for test of significance with the p-value set at P < 0.05. Results: Of the 261 participants 176 (67.5 % percent) were aged 25-34 years; majority (244,93.5 %) had tertiary education while (189, 72.4 %) were skilled workers or professionals. Most of the women (243, 93.2 %) were Para 1-3 and the pregnancy was planned (80.8 %) while financing was mostly out of pocket (60.9 %). Only one-third of the participants has at least eight (8) antenatal contacts. In overall rating, most women (90.0 %) were satisfied with the antenatal care services received. The highest rating of satisfaction was with the competence of the service providers (90.4 %) especially with the care given to them and their unborn babies (90.4 %). The parity, distance of their home from antenatal clinic, number of antenatal contacts, number of health education sessions attended, total time spent, attitude of health workers, cost of services and desire to register again at the facility were statistically associated with patient's satisfaction. Also, the number of antenatal visits was statistically associated with the fetal outcome. Conclusion: There is a high overall level of satisfaction with antenatal services among postpartum women in UCH. It is important to encourage women to register early to ensure they have adequate number of antenatal contacts and also participate in the health education sessions.

Influence of educational intervention on nurse-midwives' knowledge and management practices of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in healthcare Facilities in Ekiti-State, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of an educational intervention on midwives' knowledge, detection and management of intimate partner violence (IPV). METHODS: A quasi-experimental study involving 158 midwives from two districts in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The sample was divided into experimental and control groups (79 midwives per group). Data were collected using a questionnaire and an observation checklist. A customized educational training program on IPV detection and management was conducted in the experimental group. Measurement was performed before the intervention, immediately after and 6 weeks later. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square and binary logistic regression) with a level of significance set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Prior knowledge regarding IPV detection and management among midwives in both groups was poor, with only 16.5 % of the experimental group and 17.7 % of the control group having good knowledge in the pre-intervention phase. The experimental group had a significant improvement in knowledge of IPV screening and management, with 82.1 % having good knowledge immediately after the intervention and 92.0 % at 6 weeks after the intervention (p = 0.001). Observed practice of IPV detection and management improved significantly from 21.9 % satisfactory practice before the intervention to 63.5 % after the intervention (p = 0.001) in the experimental group, with no appreciable improvement in practice detected in the control group (21.9% versus 36.5%; p = 0.682). CONCLUSION: The use of a customized educational training program improved midwives' knowledge and practice in the detection and management of intimate partner violence.

Tocophobia experience and its impact on birth choices among Nigerian women: a qualitative exploratory study.

INTRODUCTION: while pregnancy is a very beautiful and memorable experience for most women, some women may experience apathy towards childbirth and have feelings of fear and anxiety (tocophobia). Tocophobia can be far reaching with adverse physiologic and emotional consequences for mothers, infants and families. This study therefore explored tocophobia experiences among primigravid women and explored its influence on birth choices among antenatal women. METHODS: the study employed a qualitative exploratory research design. Participants who were primigravida (women who had never experienced childbirth), were selected using purposive sampling technique on antenatal clinic days. Data was obtained using semi-structured interview questions. Data was analyzed using content analysis approach and thematic categorization. RESULTS: results showed that few of the women experienced tocophobia and these fears were not strong enough to make them opt for caesarian section. Reasons attributed to tocophobia experience among the participants included "horror stories" told in the neighborhood, "past experiences" of close acquaintance and "entertainment videos" broadcast. Furthermore, all the participants preferred to have vaginal delivery. CONCLUSION: few of the primigravid women in Ekiti State, Nigeria, experience tocophobia and this experience does not influence their choice of delivery option, as all participant´s preferred vaginal delivery to caesarian section. It is important for midwives to be aware of their role in counselling and identifying women with tocophobia in order to promote good and safe transition from pregnancy to motherhood.

Perceived quality of life and life style modification of cancer patients undergoing varied treatments in a tertiary health institution, Ekiti State, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: cancer is viewed in the African context as a death sentence. Its effect can be overwhelming to both the patient and their support system. The objective of the study was to assess the perceived quality of life of cancer patients undergoing varied cancer treatments in a tertiary health institution in Ekiti State and to determine the life style modification of cancer patients undergoing varied treatments in the same health facility. METHODS: the study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design. A consecutive sampling approach was utilized to select 80 respondents among the cancer patients who attended the cancer registry within the study time frame. Data was collected from these cancer patients by using structured and validated questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics with level of significance set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: respondent´s ages ranged from 20 - 61 years with a mean age of 50 ± 18.3 years. Only 7.8% are not dependent on medications to function in their daily life. Most of the participants reported that their sex life has been affected (61.1%) and 77% of the respondents reported fatigue. About 76% of respondents need varying measure of medical treatment to function in their daily life. Overall, 44.8% have poor quality of life, while 55.1% had good quality of life in this current study. Moreover, a significant relationship was found between quality of life and self-assessment of patient´s health (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis predicting factors affecting quality of life of respondents revealed that self-assessment of respondents (AOR: 3.389; 95% CI: 1.897-6.054) remained a significant and more likely predictor of quality of life while respondent´s age (AOR: 0.244; 95% CI: 0.068-0.876) and level of education (AOR: 0.054; 95% CI: 0.005-0.546) were less likely predictors. CONCLUSION: one quarter of the participants have poor life and majority of the participants need varying measure of medical treatment to function in their day to day life. Management of cancer patients should be geared towards improving/ameliorating symptoms and improving quality of life of cancer patients.

Knowledge and practices of immediate newborn care among midwives in selected health care facilities in Ekiti State, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: almost 99% of neonatal deaths occur in developing countries and these deaths can be prevented by the presence of a skilled birth attendant during labour. This study therefore assessed the knowledge and practices of midwives towards immediate newborn care. METHODS: this study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design. Eighty nine midwives were selected using purposive sampling technique from the two health facilities. Questionnaire was adapted from helping babies breathe manual. Data collected were analyzed with SPSS version 25 and the results were presented using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: the mean age of the respondents was 33.20 years ± 8.07. More than half of the midwives (56.2%) had a good knowledge on immediate newborn care. About 62.9% had good practices of immediate new born care, though some still carry out some obsolete practices like routine suctioning of the airway of newborns, immediate cleaning/removal of the vernix caseosa with olive oil and immediate cord clamping. CONCLUSION: a bit above average of the midwives had good knowledge about immediate newborn care and some of the midwives still carry out obsolete practices that has been judge as non-beneficial and are not in line with recommendations of World Health Organization/UNICEF on immediate newborn care. This study therefore recommends that midwives undergo training and retraining on immediate newborn care and there should be increased awareness and education on recent up to date practices of immediate newborn care.

Awareness and attitude of healthcare workers to cosmetic surgery in osogbo, Nigeria.

This study aimed at understanding the level of awareness and elucidates the attitude and disposition of healthcare workers to cosmetic surgery in Osogbo, Nigeria. A questionnaire-based survey was done at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, in 2012. Questionnaires were administered to 213 workers and students in the hospital. These were then analysed using SPSS version 16.0 with frequencies, means, and so forth. Respondents were 33 doctors, 32 nurses, 79 medical students, 60 nursing students, 4 administrative staff, 1 pharmacist, and 4 ward maids. There is fair awareness about cosmetic surgery generally with 94.5% and its availability in Nigeria with 67.0%. A fewer proportion of the respondents (44.5%) were aware of the facility for cosmetic surgery in their locality. A large percentage (86.5%) favorably considers facilities outside Nigeria when making choice of facility to have cosmetic surgery done. 85.5% considered the information about cosmetic surgery reliable while 19.0% objected going for cosmetic surgery of their choice even if done free. Only 34.0% consider cosmetic surgery socially acceptable. Although the awareness of health workers about cosmetic surgery is high, their disposition to it is low. There is a need to increase the awareness in order to increase cosmetic surgery practice in Nigeria.