Marriage-Age and Fertility Pattern among Reproductive Age Women in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, South East Nigeria

Introduction: In Nigeria, one of the major reasons for marriage is procreation and married couples look forward to having children within a year or two of marriage. The age of marriage is on the increase in this part of the world. Many women are now increasingly getting engulfed in career and academic pursuits at the detriment of early marriage. Many men are also not interested in marrying women who have no job. There is age-related acceleration of primordial follicle depletion which is of great clinical importance because it is associated with a significant decrease in fecundity. Objective: This study assessed the ages of the marriage of women who attended Fertility and Antenatal clinics at the National Obstetric Fistula Centre and Smile Specialist Hospital, Abakaliki, and their relationship with the fertility pattern of these women. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 352 consenting married women who sought and received fertility and Antenatal care at the National Obstetric Fistula Centre and Smile Specialist Hospital Abakaliki, South-East Nigeria between February 1, 2022 and January 31, 2024. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to the participants over a two-year period. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20. A test of statistical significance was done using Chi Square. Results: The age group with the highest education was 26 - 30. This was statistically significant (X2 = 90.893, P-value 2 = 294.555, P-value 2 = 173.007, p-value 2 = 129.494, P-value 2 = 169.300, p-value 2 = 279.230, p-value Conclusion: There is increased difficulty at conception at marriage age above 25 years. The major reasons for delayed marriage were academic pursuit and lack of gainful employment. Education of the masses and inclusion of biological dynamics of the female reproductive behaviours as part of the core school curriculum will help enlighten the female and the male folks alike to enable them to make informed decisions with regard to the timing of marriage and commencement of procreation. This will help reduce infertility and save millions of couples the agony associated with infertility.

The role of nurses in the prevention of cervical cancer: Cervical screening, an unkept promise by the majority of women in Nigeria

Cervical cancer remains a major public health problem accounting for continuous female death in developing countries.Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women globally with an estimated number of 500,000 new cases of cervical cancer and 273,000 mortalities annually.Cervical screening is the best cancer screening test in the history of medicine and most cost-effective of all medical screening tests.The study review aimed to highlight methods of cervical cancer prevention,identify the uptake of cervical screening among women,and explain the role of nurses in uptake of cervical screening.Cervical cancer is preventable and easily treatable if it is detected at early stages,but poor information on prevention and access to screening and treatment contributes to 90%of deaths.In the developing countries such as Nigeria,a large proportion of cervical cancers are diagnosed in advanced stages,with poor rates of survival.The three main methods for preventing cervical cancer are through primary prevention(human papillomavirus vaccination and health education),secondary prevention(cervical screening,early detection of precancerous lesions,and treatment),and tertiary prevention(measures to slow the progression or recurrence,surgical removal,radiotherapy,and chemotherapy).Nurses can help improve the acceptability of this neglected promise by focusing on health education on cervical screening and vaccination in prenatal clinics and infant welfare clinics where there are more women.Inclusion of cyberspace could also serve as a successful and popular platform for this health teaching.All nurses/midwives must preach and fervently work toward the WHO 90–70–90 plan for eradicating cervical cancer.

Prevalence of anemia of varying severity, geographic variations, and association with metabolic factors among women of reproductive age in China: a nationwide, population-based study

To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of anemia of varying severity among women of reproductive age,we conducted a nationwide,cross-sectional study between January 1,2019 and December 31,2019,including 4184547 nonpregnant women aged 18–49 years from all 31 provinces in the mainland of China.Anemia was defined as having hemoglobin concentration<120.0 g/L and categorized as mild,moderate,and severe.Multivariate logistic models with cluster effect were used to explore the association of anemia and metabolic risk factors.The standardized prevalence of anemia and moderate and worse anemia among women of reproductive age in China was 15.8%(95%CI 15.1%–16.6%)and 6.6%(6.3%–7.0%),respectively.The prevalence of anemia and the proportion of moderate and worse anemia significantly increased with age.We also observed great geographic variations in the prevalence of anemia,with a high likelihood in south,central,and northwest China.Moderate and/or severe anemia was positively associated with overweight and obesity,diabetes,and impaired kidney function.In conclusion,anemia remains a significant challenge for women of reproductive age in China.Geographic variations and metabolic risk factors should be considered in the comprehensive and targeting strategy for anemia reduction.