Prevalence, Causes and Management Outcomes of Antepartum Haemorrhage at UNIMEDTH, Akure over a Period of 5 years

Authors: Omotayo RS*, Akadiri O, Akintan AL, Sanni A and Omotayo SE

DOI: 10.23880/whsj-16000229

Volume 8, Issue 2

Abstract

Preamble: Concerns over maternal mortality have been raised not only by the United Nations and other international organizations, but also by national governments in developing nations like Nigeria. This major public health problem is being faced by many nations over time. About 94% of maternal deaths occur in resource poor settings with South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa having almost 86% of maternal deaths worldwide (WHO). Maternal mortality in Nigeria remains at an unacceptable level. Methodology: A descriptive retrospective hospital-based design was employed for the study. The population for the study was all patients managed for antepartum haemorrhage over a period of 5 years from 2018-2022. Two hundred and seven patients out of 9,890 deliveries had Antepartum haemorrhage at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Akure Complex for the period under review. The researcher extracted the required information/data from the hospital records, case notes and theatre registers of the hospital kept from 2018-2022. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics by chi square at 0.05 level of significance. Results: The study found among others, prevalence of antepartum hemorrhage among pregnant women in the specific location to be 2.1%. Placenta previa was the most common cause, and effective management strategies were employed, including blood transfusions and electronic fetal monitoring. The majority of patients, 95.2% did not have a premature delivery; over seventy percent (71.5%) did not require a cesarean operation. Ninety five percent (95.2%) did not require a blood transfusion, all the patients managed (100%) did not experience collapse during pregnancy, and 4.8% mothers were temporarily admitted to the intensive care unit (HDU) while 6.8% babies were admitted to neonatal care unit and 4.3% of babies did not survive. Conclusion: The prevalence of antepartum hemorrhage among pregnant women in the study location to be 2.1% which is relatively low. Placenta previa was the most common cause, and effective management strategies were employed, including blood transfusions and electronic fetal monitoring. Public health strategies geared towards reducing rate of caesarean section will go a long way in reducing incidences of tendency for placenta previa and indirectly, antepartum haemorrhage.

Keywords: Antepartum Haemorrhage; Obstetric Emergency; Pregnancy Complication; Placenta Previa; Abruption Placenta; Fetomaternal Outcomes

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