Preference and Disclosure of Fetal Gender to Pregnant Women during Prenatal Ultrasonography in South South Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasound scan (USS) in pregnancy has become a common diagnostic tool used in the assessment of pregnancy in recent time. In the course of routine pregnancy assessment using USS, some pregnant women will request to know the sex of their unborn babies. Their reasons for wanting to know the gender of their baby could be either for social reason like planning for an unborn child or their desire for a preferred gender. AIM: The aim of the study was to evaluate gender preferences and disclosure of foetal sex at prenatal USS. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the antenatal clinic of Central Hospital Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria. A total of 235 consecutive consenting women who came for antenatal care (ANC) registration were recruited for the study after obtaining their informed written consent. Questionnaire was used to seek for their sociodemographic characteristics, preference and desires for foetal gender disclosure, reasons for gender disclosure, and awareness of USS accuracy for gender determination. RESULTS: The desire to know the sex of baby was high (99.6%). The major reason for wanting to know the sex of baby was to plan for the unborn child (47.7%) and maternal curiosity (37.0%). Majority of the women (57.4%) had no gender preference. Sixty percent (60%) were not aware that USS sex diagnosis could be wrong. CONCLUSION: There is a strong desire by pregnant women to know the sex of their babies at routine USS. Considering the fact that many of the women were not aware that there could be wrong diagnosis at prenatal ultrasound, it is suggested that adequate counselling be given before fetal sex disclosure.

Observations on the food habits of some African rodents.

Food habits of four common species of African rodents: the giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus), the black house rat (Rattus rattus), the multimammate rat (Mastomys natalensis) and the pygmy mouse (Mus minutoides) were studied on the basis of stomach content analysis, habitat sampling and experimental trials with caged animals. Vegetable items (especially grass, grains and tubers) formed the bulk of the food of all the species. Oil-palm nuts and kernels were also common in the guts of C. gambianus and M. natalensis. Animal food components of all the rodent species comprised mainly insects (especially ants, crickets etc.). Vertebrate flesh and scales were also well represented in the guts of C. gambianus. Domestic and miscellaneous food items were recorded from R. rattus, most of which were trapped in human and animal shelters. Inorganic gut contents, primarily sand grains, were found in sizeable quantities in more than 70% of the rodents examined. Results of experimental feeding trials with caged rodents showed close correlation with those recorded from field samples, especially in terms of food choices and the relative quantities consumed. The ecological and practical implications of these observations are discussed in the light of the importance of the rodents as agricultural and domestic pests.