Pregnancy outcomes among women with pre-eclampsia attending Tertiary Antenatal Clinic in South-East Nigeria: A 3-year review

Abstract

Background: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are associated with high fetomaternal morbidity and mortality. Globally, about 5-10% of women experience hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, hence adequate understanding of this disorders can contribute greatly  to its prevention, control and management in order to achieve optimal care of the patients at risk. This study sought to assess the  pregnancy outcomes in women with preeclampsia who attended the antenatal clinic of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University  Teaching Hospital Amaku Awka (COOUTH), in Anambra State, South-Eastern, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study from data that were obtained from health records of women with  pre-eclampsia , who attended antenatal care in the facility from January 1^st , 2016, to December 31^st 2018. Data was analyzed using  statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. The level of significance for this study was set at P< 0.05 for all analyses.  

Results: Out of the 143 women with pre-eclampsia seen within the study period 3(4.6%) didn't deliver at the index hospital. Their mean age was 31.14 ± 5.12years. There was no maternal mortality recorded in this study. Majority (87.1%) had a Caesarean delivery; mean birth  weight of the babies was 2.71 ± 0.92kg and mean APGAR score at 1and 5minutes were 7.67 ± 1.08 & 9.64 ± 0.77 respectively.

Conclusion:  The optimal utilization of antenatal care services reduced the risk of maternal mortality, although operative deliveries was high probably to reduce complications to the fetus as well as the mother. Hence high quality ANC should be provided for pregnant women and they  should be  encouraged to comply with the recommendations during ANC.