The difference in fertility levels of any given two societies has a relationship with the interval between births. We determined the duration of inter-birth interval and the determinants of short inter-birth interval in Enugu, Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered to a cross-section of 420 women consecutively recruited from the family planning and antenatal clinics of two hospitals in Enugu metropolis. The mean age was 30.9 ± 5.1 (range 20-44) years. The median inter-birth interval was 21.5 months and the prevalence of modern contraceptive use among respondents was 18.1%. Women's age of 25 years or less, duration of breast-feeding of 10 months or less, and non-use of modern contraceptives had strong association (p < 0.05) with short inter-birth interval. The mean inter-birth interval in Enugu is short. Future child spacing campaign in Enugu should target the encouragement of longer breast-feeding practices and increased uptake of modern contraception among our women.

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The prevalence of malaria and anaemia is very high in the Nkanu West LGA of Enugu State, Nigeria. Efforts to reduce the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia and anaemia in pregnancy should be intensified in rural settings of Enugu state and Nigeria as a whole.

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Background Poor oral health in pregnancy can be associated with poor pregnancy outcome, however, dental consultation among pregnant women appears to be low. Methods This was a questionnaire-based study of 413 women who attended the antenatal clinic of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu. The information obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 22. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Only 36 (8.7%) of the respondents had dental consultations in index pregnancy for complaints such as tooth ache and decay (66.7%) and pain as well as swelling of the gum (33.3%). The most common reason given for not visiting a dentist during the index pregnancy was the visit not being relevant to their pregnancy outcome (69.2%). After counseling them, only 249 (60.3%) agreed to have dental consultation during subsequent pregnancies. The relationship between visiting the dentist and place of residence (< 0.001), occupation (0.019) and frequency of brushing/ changing of brush (0.005, < 0.001 respectively) were statistically significant. Conclusion The prevalence of dental consultation during pregnancy is very low. Pregnant women should be encouraged to have routine dental consultation with oral health counseling and check-up incorporated as part of routine antenatal care.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to assess how the current COVID-19 pandemic has affected cesarean section (C-section) rates, indications, and peripartum outcomes. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study that compared a 3-month rates of and indications for C-sections at three tertiary health care institutions in Nigeria before (October 2019–December 2019) and during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020–May 2020). Primary outcomes were C-section rate and indications between the two periods. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 IBM Corporation. Rates and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to quantify indications and peripartum outcomes and statistical significance was accepted when p value was <0.05. Results: The baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. The C-section rate during the COVID-19 period was significantly less than the period prior to the pandemic (237/580, 40.0% vs 390/833, 46.8%; p = 0.027). The rates of postdatism (odds ratio = 1.47, 95% confidence interval = 1.05–2.05, p = 0.022), fetal distress (odds ratio = 3.06, 95% confidence interval = 1.55–6.06, p = 0.017), emergency C-section (odds ratio = 1.43, 95% confidence interval = 1.01–2.05, p = 0.042), and anemia (odds ratio = 1.84, 95% confidence interval = 1.12–3.03, p = 0.016) were significantly higher during the pandemic than prepandemic. Conclusion: The overall C-section rate during the first wave of COVID-19 was significantly lower than the prepandemic period. There were higher rates of postdatism, fetal distress, emergency C-section, and postpartum anemia. Further studies on this changing C-section trend during the pandemic are needed.

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Introduction: Poor oral health status in pregnant women is known to be associated with poor outcomes in pregnancies. Despite this, the oral health status of pregnant women has been grossly overlooked during antenatal period. Aim: To determine the awareness and practices of oral health among pregnant women in Enugu, Southeastern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire based study of 413 women who attended the antenatal clinic of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla from January 2018 to May 2018. An interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaire which was pretested before the commencement of the study was used. The information obtained was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 350 (84.75%) of the respondents used toothbrush and toothpaste for oral cleaning, 229 (55.45%) brushed at least twice a day while 258 (62.5%) changed their brushes every three months. Only 161 (39%) of the respondents knew that pregnancy can affect oral health while 101 (24.5%) of the respondents knew that poor oral health in pregnancy could have adverse effects on the unborn child; of whom only 30 (29.70%) got the information from their Obstetricians. Conclusion: There were knowledge gaps in the oral health of pregnant women in Enugu southeastern Nigeria. It is therefore important to provide oral health education for pregnant women during antenatal period in order to improve the health of the mother and her baby.