oluwadamilare akingbade

Neonatal jaundice is highly predominant among preterm neonates and its effective management is essential to reducing hospital admission duration and the associated financial burden. Phototherapy remains the primary choice of management; however, the incorporation of developmental care and parental involvement has led to enhanced outcomes. 

This case report presents “Baby M,” a preterm female neonate born at 32+5 weeks gestation due to maternal complications, including anemia and pregnancy-induced hypertension, who was admitted to a neonatal unit with prematurity, ventriculomegaly and bilateral talipes. Upon admission, she required high-flow oxygen therapy for mild respiratory distress and intravenous antibiotics for suspected sepsis. Her serum bilirubin levels reached 236 µmol/L, exceeding the treatment threshold defined by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, leading to the initiation of phototherapy. Initially placed on intravenous fluids due to respiratory challenges, Baby M was later transitioned to expressed breast milk from her mother. Her phototherapy treatment followed National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, ensuring that parental involvement and neurodevelopmental support were prioritized to minimize stress and promote optimal outcomes. This report highlights the benefits of developmental care in care in reducing stress, promoting bonding and optimizing neurodevelopment in preterm neonates, underscoring its importance in improving therapeutic outcomes in neonatal jaundice.

The components of developmental care are effective and should therefore be incorporated into the management of neonatal jaundice, for improved therapeutic outcomes.

Women experience physical, hormonal, and psychological changes during pregnancy. Similarly, some traditions are prevalent among Javanese women, which could affect their pregnancy. The experiences of first‑time pregnant women in this area remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of women during their first pregnancy.

The qualitative study with a phenomenological approach was conducted in Kesambon village in Malang Regency, Indonesia. Eight women in their third trimester were selected purposively. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews and subsequently open-coded using the NVivo-12 software manufactured by the QS International.

The participants were married primigravida women aged 17 to 22 years. Four themes emerged as follows: pregnancy is a positive experience, pregnant women are not independent, belief in pregnancy‑related myths and traditions, and pregnancy‑related information seeking.

During the first pregnancy, pregnant women believed and practiced Javanese traditions regarding pregnancy. Although they were happy, they were still dependent and lacked the motivation to seek pregnancy‑related information. Hence, midwives should provide them with adequate pregnancy‑related information while addressing harmful myths and misconceptions. This should culminate in a successful pregnancy.

Maternal health is the mother’s state of well‑being before, during, and after conception. Studies have suggested that the increasing maternal mortality rate is preventable provided maternal health services are accessible during pregnancy. This study explored the association between socioeconomic status and the utilization of maternal health services in the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, Ogun State.

This study is a cross‑sectional survey. One hundred and eighty‑eight pregnant women from the antenatal unit of a tertiary hospital in Southwestern Nigeria were selected using a convenience sampling technique. Data were collected via a pretested, self‑designed questionnaire. The descriptive statistics were used to analyze the resulting data, and the hypotheses were tested using the Pearson product‑moment correlation at 0.05 level of significance.

From the study, 72 (38.30%) and 58 (30.90%) agreed that their income and occupation influence their maternal health services utilization. Significant relationship (p </em>< 0.05) existed between maternal health service utilization and age and between socioeconomic factors (occupation and income level) and utilization of maternal health services of pregnant women.

Overall, this study revealed that the level of utilization of maternal health services among expectant women attending FMC is moderate. As this study has shown that socioeconomic factors influence the utilization of maternal health services, we recommend that interventions by health workers targeted at improving the utilization of maternal health services should consider these factors when designing such interventions. It is hoped that this will contribute to reducing maternal mortality and morbidity in this state.

The study aimed to assess the awareness of mothers on the risk factors, prevention, and management of seizures in newborns.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 359 mothers using simple random sampling. The data were collected using questionnaires that included general awareness, awareness of the causes, risk factors, prevention, and management. The data collected were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Null hypotheses were tested using chi-square at 0.05 level of significance.

Two hundred seventy-four mothers (76.3%) had high awareness of seizures in newborns, thirty-four (9.5%) had average awareness, and fifty-one (14.2%) had low awareness. Two hundred and seventythree mothers (76%) had high awareness of the risk factors, and eighty-six (24%) had low awareness, meaning that although some respondents had misconceptions, awareness of the risk factors and causes was good. Two hundred twenty-three (62.1%) respondents had high awareness of preventing seizures in newborns, while 136 (37.9%) had low awareness. The awareness of respondents on managing seizures in newborns is positive, as 291 (81.1%) had high awareness of managing seizures in newborns, while sixty-eight (18.9%) had low awareness. There was a significant relationship between age (p =0.000), marital status (p=0.018), level of education (p =0.000), and awareness of risk factors of seizures in the newborn.

A high awareness of neonatal seizures was found among mothers because of their high educational level, although some still had some misconceptions. Improving maternal neonatal seizure awareness and appropriate educational interventions to correct misconceptions are needed.

To meet the changing global population needs and demands of patient care, healthcare systems worldwide are under restructuring and transformation. Advanced practice nursing has been adopted in many developed countries to meet pressing issues like workforce shortage and equitable distribution of competent healthcare professionals. However, Nigeria is yet to take advantage of this initiative despite being seriously affected by these issues. This article documents the need for and prospects of advanced practice nursing in Nigeria. 

Methods & Materials:

 A descriptive theoretical and empirical literature analysis was done to explain the impact of advanced practice nursing in advancing the Nigerian health system.

The expertise and capacity of the nursing workforce, especially its numerical strength, can be utilized to improve Nigeria’s health system and achieve the global goal of making quality healthcare accessible and available to all, thereby achieving universal health coverage.

Elevating the competencies of nurses through investments in advanced practice nursing will make primary healthcare available to Nigerians living in poverty, rural dwellers, youth, and children, thereby reducing the burden of diseases and improving health promotion and disease prevention.

Pregnancy and labour are defining moments in the lives of women. While these are joyful moments for many, some physical and psychological issues have been reported during labour and pregnancy. This study was conducted to explore the coping experiences of Nigerian women during pregnancy and labour. This is an exploratory qualitative study using the content analysis. The study was conducted from November 2021 to January 2022 in Ekiti State and Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 women selected using the purposive sampling technique. Data collection was stopped when we reached data saturation. Data were analyzed through content analysis using the NVIVO software version 12. Two themes emerged from the study including coping strategies during pregnancy and trying to endure labour pain. The theme, coping strategies utilized during pregnancy, included obtaining the relatives’ experiences, seeking information, religious practices, and engaging in exercise. The theme,  trying to endure labour pain, consisted of exercising for pain relief, relying on God, Positive imagination, giving psychological support, and behaving according to the accepted cultural beliefs. Findings suggested that women utilized many non-pharmacological methods for coping. Interventions to support women during pregnancy and labour should consider these strategies during planning and implementation.

Health care services and programs directed towards combating the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have been disrupted because of the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The African continent because of its staggering health care system and poor economy disproportionately bears the burden of these diseases. While successes have been recorded in controlling and eliminating the NTDs, policymakers in Africa should consider the potential of the COVID-19 to dwindle these successes an issue of high priority. This commentary seeks to discuss the current status of NTDs in Africa and proffer recommendations to help combat these diseases at this period. It is worthy to say that similar dedication directed towards fighting the COVID-19 should also be deployed into eliminating other diseases like the NTDs which often, are neglected.

Polypharmacy (PP) and inappropriate medication use (IMU) are issues that negatively affect the health care system. Despite nurses’ engagement and important role in prevention of drug-related issues, awareness regarding consequences of PP and IMU is relatively low. This study aimed to determine the knowledge and perception effects about PP and IMU among nurses in the Lautech teaching hospital, Osun state, Nigeria.

This descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed on 190 randomly selected nurses working at the Lautech teaching hospital (Osun state, Nigeria) in June 2020. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was verified by obtaining a Cronbach alpha score of 0.77. Data analysis was done in SPSS 25 using descriptive statistics, the Chi-square test. All analyses were carried out at significance level of 0.05.

The findings revealed that most nurses (84.2%) had good knowledge about PP. In addition, 93.2% of the nurses claimed that IMU should be entirely avoided. According to the nurses, the most important perceived effect of PP and IMU was adverse drug reactions (57.9%). There was a significant relationship between nurses level of educational and knowledge of PP (χ2=12.095, P=0.002). Moreover, there was a positive correlation between the respondents’ age and knowledge of PP (r=0.204, P=0.016). There was also a significant negative correlation between the nurses' knowledge and perceived effect of PP and IMU (r=0.605, P<0.001).

The results indicate that the nurses working at the study setting possess good knowledge of PP and IMU. Educational programs such as seminars and workshops are essential for translating this information into routine nursing care.

Choosing the contraception method remains one of the most critical decisions made by women of reproductive age. Not only does this have a direct impact on women’s reproductive health, it also affects their social and economic well-being. This study was carried out to determine the factors affecting choice of contraceptives among women of reproductive age in Lagos State, Nigeria.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 women aged 15-45 years who visited the family planning clinic at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria in 2019. The subjects were enrolled through a convenience sampling method. Data were collected using a demographic information form and a self-structured questionnaire on knowledge about family planning methods (n=9), the choice of contraceptives (n=8) and factors influencing the choice of family planning (n=15). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and the Pearson correlation coefficient at significance level of 0.05.

We found that 82.8% of the respondents had good knowledge about the contraceptives. The most commonly used methods of contraception were birth control pills (38.3%) and implants (36.1%), while the least commonly used methods were tubal ligation (29.4%) and withdrawal (29.4%). The choice of contraceptives was significantly correlated with level of knowledge (r=-0.564, P=0.001) and religion (r=-0.173, P=0.020) of the subjects.

The majority of women in the study area have good knowledge about contraceptives, and factors such as parity and fear of injury from contraceptives affect their choice of contraceptives. This study recommends implementation of extensive health education and counseling sessions to assist women in contraceptive decision making.