Breast cancer awareness in reproductive women in the low-and middle-income countries:a scoping review

Objective:This study aimed to assess breast cancer(BC)awareness among reproductive women in low-and middle-income countries(LMICs),identify influencing factors,and propose feasible interventions or programs.Methods:We followed a 5-step process using a modified version of Arksey and O’Malley framework methodology.A comprehensive search was conducted on the Embase,PubMed,and CINAHL electronic databases for literature published within 10 years(from 2012 to 2022).Results:Thirty-three papers published between 2012 and 2020,spanning 18 countries,were included.Of these,45.6%described a good level of knowledge,while 24.2%reported that women at reproductive ages had good awareness.Twelve influencing factors were identified in 3 categories:socio-demographic(family history,personal history,marital status,age,religion,income status,living place,and occupation),personal(self-efficacy,education,and perceived level),and external(advertisements promoting awareness).Educational programs were recommended in most(>72%)of the included studies.Conclusions:While most studies reported high levels of knowledge and awareness,some found low prevalence among certain groups.Factors affecting knowledge and awareness were classified into socio-demographic,personal,and external categories,with socio-demographic factors such as age,education,income,and marital status being the most frequently cited.The studies recommended implementing educational programs,health prevention strategies,and social interventions to increase BC knowledge and awareness.

A New Page for Women's Reproductive Health in Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine

The integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine (ICWM) of obstetrics and gynecology (OBS/GYN) emerged eventually with more than 40 years’ hard struggle, and one of the most promising articles is the integration of the masterpieces of menstrual disorder and infertility in TCM and the virtual explosion of new knowledge and methods in

Reproductive Health Needs of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Yaounde, Cameroon

The population plagued with the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Cameroon is young, a generation that may desire or control fertility. For those who may become pregnant, the desire to have children may not be there. We carried out this study to look at the picture of the reproductive health needs of women living with HIV/AIDS in our setting. In this cross-sectional non-analytic design that lasted for three years, we employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data from them after receiving ethical clearance (N221/CM/2009) from the National Ethics Committee. Consenting HIV infected women who were attending the “HIV Day Care” clinics and those who delivered and were in the post partum wards in four of our major hospitals in Yaounde were enrolled. Interviews were individualized. We used both CSPro version 4.1 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0 softwares for data analysis. Four hundred and fifteen (415) women were enrolled;the mean age was 29 ± 7.8 years;the most represented age group was 24 -29 years. They were single (36.14%), well educated (5 out of 10 had attained university level of education), 61.20% revealed that their partners knew their HIV status, 82.4% believed that screening for cancer of the cervix was necessary for their status and 47.70% would want to be screened for some or all STIs. About 36.86% had the desire to have children, 57.1% of those who delivered did not plan to have the pregnancies out of which 82% would have wanted a modern method of contraception but did not have (82% unmet needs). Modern contraceptive use was associated with age and individual characteristics such as level of education. It was 64.34% among women who had secondary level of education and below as against 35.66% among those who had high school level of education and above. Contraceptive use was also high among women who were unmarried as against those who were married (89.64% vs 10.36%). The desire to have children decreased as age increased (43.85% vs 18.79%) and was lower among married women compared to those who were single (13.01% versus 49.64%). These women were found to have high unmet needs for modern contraception and showed interest in STIs and cervical cancer screening.

Contraceptive Use and Method Choice at Initial Sex among Married Reproductive Women

Objective To investigate whether the contraceptives were used and how effective the contraceptives were at the initial sex among reproductive women Data & Methods Data employed in this paper were derived from 'The national survey on population and reproductive health in 1997', launched by State Family Planning Commission of China(SFPCC). This paper used only a part of the collected data, namely initial sex of married reproductive women. Results Only 6.45 percent of married reproductive women used contraceptives at their initial sex. Most contraceptive methods used at initial sex were condom, oral contraceptives and rhythm. Intention of pregnancy, forgetting orignorance of using contraceptive were main reasons for not using contraceptives at initial sex. The married reproductive women with lower proportion of using contraceptives at initial sex were of the following characteristics: living in rural area, aged, with lower education or husband of lower education level, not taking courses for newly married couple, not having heard of HIV/AIDs and with lower contraceptive knowledge marks. Contraceptives choice at initial sex among married reproductive women was associated with women's registered permanent residence, age, education level, contraceptive knowledge, initial marriage age, having taken courses for newly married, having heard of STDs or HIV/AIDs. Conclusion The key points of maternal and children care are reinforcing contraceptive knowledge education among the unmarried and newly married women, promoting contraceptive awareness and spreading knowledge to those who have no pregnant intention.

Healthcare Providers' Perceptions of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs (Including Family Planning) of Elderly Women from Selected Sites in Botswana

Much of the sexual and reproductive health services and service delivery including family planning target women of child bearing ages (15 - 49 years) and sometimes men. Hardly are there programmes/interventions that specifically target the needs of the elderly women (50 years and above), yet this group has serious sexual and reproductive health needs as many of them are still sexually active. This cross-sectional study obtained the views of a stratified random sample of 169 healthcare providers (doctors, nurses and pharmacists) from four selected sites, Gaborone, Selibe Phikwe, Barolong and Kweneng East health districts in Botswana on how the healthcare system in the selected sites is meeting the SRH/FP needs of the elderly women. The study found out that while overwhelming majority of the healthcare providers feltthat the healthcare system has no programme that specifically target the SRH/FP needs of this significant others and their SRH/FP needs are not being met ,less than 15% indicated that Pap smear screening as well as screening of cervical cancer were on-going. Although there are SRH/FP services available in the healthcare system, the elderly women are minimally accessing these services. Only condom, combined oral contraceptives, progestogen-only pills, treatment of STIs, screening for HIV/AIDS and screening for cervical cancer are accessed and information is also limited to these services. Reasons given by the healthcare providers for the non-accessibility of these services were cultural diversity (80%), people's sexual behavior and perceptions about sex (79%), lack of knowledge about the desired SRH/FP services (76%), religion (73%) and gender issues (62%). The study, advocates as part of policy options to mitigate the obstacles to accessing SRH/FP services, the expansion of counseling programmes, screening and treatment for breast cancer, public awareness campaigns, production and circulation of appropriate educational materials, effective training of healthcare providers and the establishment of separate clinic days for the elderly women' SRH/FP services.

现代集约化肉羊业主要关键技术研究与应用

专门化肉用种羊选定、引进后,通过适应性研究,在较大规模养羊业生产实践中,对现代集约化肉羊业的主要关键技术进行研究、完善和创新,组装集成并应用于生产。技术研究应用结果既为市场提供了大批专门化肉用种羊和优质安全的杂种肉羊,取得了高水平的研究成果及显著的经济效益和社会效益,又为我国目前正在迅速发展的集约化肉羊业提供了可靠的技术支持和理想的生产模式:从适宜的专门化肉羊品种到运用高效母羊快速扩繁技术,建立和完善有效的肉羊杂交利用体系,普遍应用种羊鲜、冻精生产大批肉用杂种羔羊,种植高产优质饲草及其科学加工调制和利用,建立严格兽医防疫制度,实行放牧+补饲或全舍饲的精细管理和集约化育肥,至生产优质、安全、标准肉羊,获得显著的经济效益和社会效益。

Assessment of the Magnitude and Associated Factors of Unmet Need for Family Planning among Women of Reproductive Age Group with Disabilities in Bahir Dar City, Amhara Region, North West Ethiopia

The study was conducted to assess the magnitude and associated factors of unmet need for family planning among women of reproductive age group with disabilities who are members of disabled associations in Bahir Dar town. Institution based cross-sectional study was carried out. A total of 337 women of reproductive age group with disabilities were included in the study with simple random sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interview, coded, cleaned and entered by Epi info 2002 and analyzed with SPSS version 16 computer software. Logistic regression was used to assess possible associations. The magnitude of unmet need for family planning among women with disabilities was 24.3%. Women with disabilities in the age group of 25-29 had 80% less likely to have unmet need than women above 35 years old. Women with disability who have no education were 11 times more likely to have unmet need than those who have secondary education. Women who desire to have more than 3 children have more likely to have unmet need than those who need to have 1-2 children. Unmet need for family planning among women with disabilities was high in Bahir Dar town. Age, Educational status and desired number of children were found to have statistically significant association with unmet need for family planning. Hence, it is important to encourage people with disabilities to attained formal education and the associations should provide short term trainings in accordance with their age group.

氧氟沙星对小鼠生殖毒性和致畸性的研究

目的研究氧氟沙星对昆明系小鼠胚胎和胎鼠发育的影响,确定其是否存在生殖毒性和致畸性。方法①雄鼠分别灌服各剂量氧氟沙星,连续10d,末次给药24h后与母鼠合笼,在妊娠第三天取胚胎,记录各剂量组胚胎发育率。②孕鼠妊娠零天给药,分别经口灌服高、中、低剂量[36、72和360mg(kg.bw)]氧氟沙星溶液,连续给药3d,在妊娠第三天收集胚胎,记录胚胎发育率。③孕鼠妊娠零天给药,分别经口灌服各剂量氧氟沙星溶液,连续给药10d,在妊娠第16天取出胎鼠,记录胎鼠体重、胎盘重、活胎数、胎鼠外观畸形和内脏畸形等指标。结果给药组与对照组相比,雄鼠服用高剂量组360mg(kg.bw)氧氟沙星对着床前胚胎发育影响显著(P<0.05),而中等剂量和低剂量组对着床前胚胎发育的影响不显著(P>0.05)。雌鼠服用不同剂量氧氟沙星对着床前胚胎发育影响不显著(P>0.05)。氧氟沙星对受孕鼠的活胎数和吸收胎数均无明显影响,给药组的活鼠体重、胎盘重均未见明显差异(P>0.05);药物组和对照组均未出现外观畸形和内脏畸形,也不存在剂量和效应关系。结论孕鼠服用不同剂氧氟沙星对昆明系小鼠胚胎和胎鼠发育无明显的影响,表明氧氟沙星对雌性鼠不具有明显的生殖毒性和致畸性;但雄鼠服用高剂量氧氟沙星对着床前胚胎发育影响显著。

Exploring fracture risk factors among Omani women: Implications for risk assessment

Osteoporosis is common among postmenopausal women, giving rise to morbidity and diminishing the quality of life. There is lack of information about the risk factors of Osteoporosis among local Omani women. The aim was to explore the risk factors of Osteoporosis among Omani women using a Modified Fracture Risk Assessment Tool. This is an exploratory research design using a simple random sampling. A pilot study was conducted among 35 local Omani women from the Muscat region, who completed the validated and reliable Modified Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (MFRAT). Bone Mineral Density (BMD) was measured among 11 women at moderate-high risk based on MFRAT. The data was analyzed using inferential statistics. Fourteen Omani women were at moderate-high risk for Osteoporotic fracture due to factors related premenopausal, Vitamin D deficiency, increased parity, increased lactation period and sedentary lifestyle. Among these five women had low BMD and required early intervention and support. Determinants of Osteoporosis can be assessed among premenopausal Omani women with a specific risk assessment tool. There is a need to construct a culturally sensitive risk assessment tool for Omani women for early screening and detection of Osteoporosis. Nurses can identify, provide intervention and education for Omani women at-risk of fracture.

Beliefs and practices of young women on utilization of prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV services in Malawi

This study explored beliefs and actual practices of young women on utilization of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV services in Balaka district of Southern Malawi. The study design wascross sectional which utilized qualitative data collection and analysis methods. In-depth interviews were conducted on 12 young mothers of 15 to 24 years old. The respondents were drawn from 6 health centres in the district during their visits to either the under-five clinic, HIV and AIDS support groups or HIV follow up clinics. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis approach. Overall the respondents had positive beliefs on utilization of PMTCT services. They believed that adherence to PMTCT guidelines such as condom use, taking of Nevirapine (NVP) and exclusive breastfeeding protected the baby from contracting the virus. Nevertheless, all respondents believed that HIV testing was mandatory and that early weaning caused malnutrition and death of babies. Actual practice was very low. Very few young mothers breastfed exclusively, weaned their babies abruptly and took NVP as recommended. Not all positive beliefs translated into positive behavior. Lack of male support, inability of the midwives to provide comprehensive care to HIV infected mothers and their infants, and fear of stigma and discrimination were other factors that hindered utilization of PMTCT services. Culture was also a major barrier because traditionally babies are expected to be breastfed and supplements are fed to babies too. Therefore, there is a need to mobilize communities on PMTCT of HIV. Education programmes in HIV should emphasize behavior change interventions and should focus on both men and women and significant others. There is also need to intensify monitoring and evaluation of health workers’ activities to ensure that beliefs translate into positive behavior.

Development and Validation of an Objective Risk Scoring System for Assessing the Likelihood of Virus Introduction in Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus-Free Sow Farms in the US

The lack of validated tools to predict how long sow farms will remain PRRS virus-free following successful elimination of the virus has deterred veterinarians and producers from attempting to eliminate the PRRS virus from sow farms. The aim of this study was to use the database of PRRS Risk Assessments for the Breeding Herd in PADRAP to develop and validate an objective risk scoring system for predicting the likelihood of virus introduction in PRRS virus-free sow farms in the US. To overcome the challenges of dealing with a large number of variables, group lasso for logistic regression (GLLR) was applied to a retrospective dataset of PRRS Risk Assessment for the Breeding Herd surveys completed for 704 farms to develop the risk scoring system. The validity of the GLLR risk scoring system was then evaluated by testing its predictive ability on a dataset from a long-term prospective study of 196 sow farms to assess risk factors associated with how long PRRS virus-free sow farms remained PRRS virus-free. Receiver operator characteristic(ROC) curves were estimated to compare the performance of the GLLR risk scoring system to the risk scoring system based on expert opinion (EO), currently used in the PRRS Risk Assessment for the Breeding Herd, for predicting whether herds remained PRRS virus-free for 130 weeks. The GLLR risk scoring system (AUC, 0.76;95% CI, 0.67 - 0.84) performed significantly better than the EO risk scoring system (AUC, 0.36;95% CI, 0.27 - 0.46) for predicting whether to sow farms in the prospective study survived for 130 weeks (p 0.001). Dividing farms into 3 risk groups (low, medium and high) using a low and high cutoff values for the GLLR risk score was informative as the differences in the KM survival curves for the 3 groups were both clinically meaningful and statistically significant. The GLLR risk scoring system used in conjunction with the PRRS Risk Assessment for the Breeding Herd survey delivered through PADRAP appears to have the potential to help veterinarians predict the likelihood of virus introduction in PRRS virus-free sow farms in the US.

Knowledge and discriminatory attitudes towards HIV/AIDS among the women of reproductive age group of Pakistan using the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey(MICS)

Background Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(HIV/AIDS)has become a major worldwide public health issue,with a focus on developing nations.Despite having a very low HIV prevalence,South Asia faces serious issues with stigma and false information because of a lack of awareness.This stigma highlights significant gaps in popular awareness while also sustaining unfavorable attitudes towards those living with HIV/AIDS.Pakistan is ranked second in South Asia for the rapidly increasing AIDS epidemic.Thorough information and optimistic outlooks are essential for successful HIV/AIDS prevention,control,and treatment.But false beliefs about how HIV/AIDS spreads lead to negative perceptions,which highlights the need to look into how women’s knowledge and attitudes about HIV/AIDS in Pakistan are influenced by sociodemographic traits and autonomy.Methods The purpose of this study is to evaluate Pakistani women’s discriminatory attitudes and level of awareness on HIV/AIDS.This study used data(the women in reproductive age 15-49 years’dataset)from the Pakistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey to conduct an analytical cross-sectional analysis.To represent the respondents’attitudes and knowledge towards people living with HIV(PLHIV),two composite variables were developed and composite scored.Binary logistics regression was used to identify predictor variables and chi-square was used for bivariate analysis.Results The findings reveal that almost 90%of Pakistani women have poor knowledge and attitude with HIV/AIDS.In Punjab,72.8%of rural residents have low knowledge,whereas only 20.6%of young individuals(15-<25 years old)show the least amount of ignorance.Education is shown to be crucial,and“Higher”education is associated with superior knowledge.Urban dwellers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa typically have more expertise.Knowledge of HIV is positively correlated with education;those with higher education levels know a lot more(odds ratio[OR]=5.419).Similarly,quintiles with greater incomes show a higher likelihood of knowing about HIV(OR=6.745).The study identifies age,wealth index,place of residence,educational attainment,and exposure to contemporary media as significant predictors influencing HIV knowledge and attitudes among women in these provinces.Conclusion The majority of respondents had negative opinions regarding the virus,and the majority of women in the study knew very little about HIV.Individuals who live in metropolitan areas,have higher incomes,are better educated,are exposed to contemporary media,and are generally more aware of HIV and have more positive attitudes towards HIV/AIDS,or PLHIV.The study found that,in comparison to those living in urban environments,those from rural areas with low socioeconomic level have a negative attitude and inadequate understanding.

高丹草新品种在河北平原农区的引进筛选

在河北平原农区,通过对国内外11个高丹草新品种的产草量、粗蛋白产量、物候期、分蘖力、再生性、株高等性状的研究分析,结果表明:以青饲、青贮饲喂牛为目的,表现最好的品种为健宝,不仅产草量高、粗蛋白产量、分蘖能力、再生性、长势均较好。其次为晋草1号、瑞奥3号。高丹草在河北平原农区春播、夏播均可,春播可刈割三次,夏播可刈割二次。

波尔山羊批量胚胎移植莎能奶山羊

采用阴道栓+FSH超数排卵,经产供体波尔山羊22只,在放栓后第9～11天,连续4d递减量肌肉注射FSH。22只供体羊发情与纯种波尔山羊种公羊配种后第7天,手术回收输卵管中早期发育胚胎再经手术移入同期发情的受体奶山羊输卵管内妊娠产仔。结果表明:1获得373枚早期胚胎,其中A级胚胎占31.1%(85/273),B级胚胎占49.5%(135/273),异常胚胎占19.4%(53/273)。2将167枚7日龄可用胚胎(A级和B级)移植147只受体羊输卵管内,移植后35d,妊娠98只,妊娠率为67%(98/147),83只羊足月产羔为89只,产羔率为85%(89/98),20只受体移植了两枚胚胎,只有6只产双羔。3羔羊出生重平均为3.7±0.54kg。每只供体羊平均产羔4.05只。胚胎移植所得羔羊的初生重与自然繁殖波尔羔羊无显著差异(P>0.05)。试验证明,山羊胚胎移植计划可使良种群体繁殖率提高3～5倍,优秀个体繁殖力提高6～8倍,从而加快纯种山羊的繁殖。

Women's experiences of formula feeding their infants:an interpretative phenomenological study

Objective: This study aimed to explore the experiences of women in the process of formula feeding their infants. The World Health Organization has emphasized the importance of breastfeeding for infant health. After decades of breastfeeding promotions,breastfeeding rates in Hong Kong have been rising consistently; however, the low continuation rate is alarming. This study explores women's experiences with formula feeding their infants, including factors affecting their decision to do so.Methods: A qualitative approach using an interpretative phenomenological analysis(IPA) was adopted as the study design. Data were collected from 2014 to 2015 through individual in-depth unstructured interviews with 16 women, conducted between 3 and 12 months after the birth of their infant. Data were analyzed using IPA.Results: Three main themes emerged as follows:(1) self-struggle, with the subthemes of feeling like a milk cow and feeling trapped;(2) family conflict, with the subtheme of sharing the spotlight; and(3) interpersonal tensions, with the subthemes of embarrassment,staring, and innocence. Many mothers suffered various stressors and frustrations during breastfeeding. These findings suggest a number of pertinent areas that need to be considered in preparing an infant feeding campaign.Conclusions: The findings of this study reinforce our knowledge of women's struggles with multiple sources of pressure, such as career demands, childcare demands, and family life after giving birth. All mothers should be given assistance in making informed decisions about the optimal approach to feeding their babies given their individual situation and be provided with support to pursue their chosen feeding method.

Iodine deficiency and women’s health: Colonialism’s malign effect on health in Oromia region, in Ethiopia

Objectives: Iodine is an essential nutrient needed for the synthesis of hormone thyroxin. Hormone thyroxin is involved in the metabolism of several nutrients, the regulation of enzymes and differentiation of cells, tissues and organs. Iodine deficiency (ID) impairs the development of the brain and nervous system. It affects cognitive capacity, educability, productivity and child mortality. ID hinders physical strength and causes reproductive failure. The objective of this paper is to explore if the health impacts of ID are more common and severe among women. Design: Using primary data (notes from a visit) and secondary data, this paper examines if the effects of ID are more common and severe among Oromo women inEthiopia. Findings: The health impacts of ID are more common and severe among women. Conclusions: ID is an easily preventable nutritional problem. In Oromia, the persistence of ID is explained by the Ethiopian government’s colonial social policies. Preventing ID should be seen as part of the efforts we make to enhance capacity building, promote health, gender equity and social justice. Implications: Iodine deficiency has a wide range of biological, social, economic and cultural impacts. Preventing ID can be instrumental in bringing about gender equity and building the capacity of people.

Smart Approaches to Efficient Text Mining for Categorizing Sexual Reproductive Health Short Messages into Key Themes

To promote behavioral change among adolescents in Zambia, the National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Council, in collaboration with UNICEF, developed the Zambia U-Report platform. This platform provides young people with improved access to information on various Sexual Reproductive Health topics through Short Messaging Service (SMS) messages. Over the years, the platform has accumulated millions of incoming and outgoing messages, which need to be categorized into key thematic areas for better tracking of sexual reproductive health knowledge gaps among young people. The current manual categorization process of these text messages is inefficient and time-consuming and this study aims to automate the process for improved analysis using text-mining techniques. Firstly, the study investigates the current text message categorization process and identifies a list of categories adopted by counselors over time which are then used to build and train a categorization model. Secondly, the study presents a proof of concept tool that automates the categorization of U-report messages into key thematic areas using the developed categorization model. Finally, it compares the performance and effectiveness of the developed proof of concept tool against the manual system. The study used a dataset comprising 206,625 text messages. The current process would take roughly 2.82 years to categorise this dataset whereas the trained SVM model would require only 6.4 minutes while achieving an accuracy of 70.4% demonstrating that the automated method is significantly faster, more scalable, and consistent when compared to the current manual categorization. These advantages make the SVM model a more efficient and effective tool for categorizing large unstructured text datasets. These results and the proof-of-concept tool developed demonstrate the potential for enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of message categorization on the Zambia U-report platform and other similar text messages-based platforms.

寄主植物对甜菜夜蛾的发育和繁殖及体内酯酶活性的影响

在恒温(2 8±1 )℃条件下考察了葱、苋菜、豇豆、蕹菜、菜心5种寄主植物对甜菜夜蛾SpodopteraexiguaH櫣ｂｎｅｒ的营养效应及体内羧酸酯酶、乙?铛ッ富钚缘挠跋?,结果表明,不同寄主植物对甜菜夜蛾幼虫和蛹的发育历期、存活率、蛹重、雌成虫产卵量等有显著影响,其中对雌成虫产卵量的影响最大。雌成虫产卵量最高为取食菜心的处理,其次是取食葱的处理。寄主植物对甜菜夜蛾体内羧酸酯酶、乙酰胆碱酯酶活性也有显著影响,但这些酶的活性与发育历期、存活率、产卵量无明显相关性。在进行预测预报、田间防治时应充分考虑寄主植物对甜菜夜蛾发育历期、产卵量、解毒酶活性的影响。

Birth outcomes and pregnancy complications of women with uterine leiomyoma—a population-based case-control study

Objective Uterine leiomyoma is not a rare pathological condition in pregnant women;thus the aim of the study was to evaluate the recent progress in the treatment of these pregnant women on the basis of the association of leiomyoma in pregnancy (LP) with pregnancy complications and birth outcomes including structural birth defects, i.e. congenital abnormalities (CA) in the offspring. Design Cases with CA and matched controls without CA in the population-based Hungarian Case-Control Surveillan- ce System of Congenital Abnormalities (HCC SCA) were evaluated. Only women with prospectively and medically recorded LP in prenatal maternity logbook and medically recorded birth outcomes (gestational age, birth weight, CA) were included to the study. Setting the HCCSCA, 1980-1996 contained 22,843 cases with CA and 38,151 matched controls without CA. Population Hungarian pregnant women and their informative offspring: live births, stillbirths and prenatally diagnosed malformed fetuses. Methods Comparison of birth outcomes of ca- ses with matched controls and pregnancy com- plications of pregnant women with or without LP. Main outcome measures Pregnancy complications, mean gestational age at delivery and birth weight, rate of preterm birth, low birthweight, CA. Results A total of 34 (0.15%) cases had mothers with LP compared to 71 (0.19%) controls. There was a higher incidence of threatened abortion, placental disorders, mainly abruption placentae and anaemia in mothers with LP. There was no significantly higher rate of preterm birth in the newborns of women with LP but their mean birth weight was higher and it associated with a higher rate of large birthweight newborns. A higher risk of total CA was not found in cases born to mothers with LP (adjusted OR with 95% CI = 0.7, 0.5-1.1), the spe- cified groups of CAs were also assessed versus controls, but a higher occurrence of women with LP was not revealed in any CA group. Con- clusions Women with LP have a higher risk of threatened abortion, placental disorders and anaemia, but a higher rate of adverse birth outcomes including CAs was not found in their offspring.

Awareness of the Termination of Pregnancy Act of the Laws of Zambia among Women of Reproductive Age at Kanyama First Level Hospital in Lusaka District Zambia

Background: Termination of pregnancy (TOP) in Zambia is guided by the Termination of Pregnancy (TOP) Act of 1972 and as amended in 1994 of the laws of Zambia. However, despite provision of Comprehensive abortion care services with the liberal law, statistics at Kanyama First Level Hospital in relation to unsafe illegal abortions are alarming. This study sought to understand the Awareness on the TOP Act of the laws of Zambia among women of reproductive age 15 - 49 years at Kanyama First Level Hospital in Lusaka District. Purpose of the Study: To assess awareness on the TOP Act among women of reproductive age at Kanyama First Level Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. Methodology: A convergent parallel mixed method design was conducted using both survey and in-depth interviews among women of reproductive age at Kanyama First Level Hospital in Lusaka District. The study surveyed 370 randomly sampled women aged 15 to 49 years old while the in-depth interviews included eight women purposively sampled from the survey population. Survey data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data thematic analysis was used. Results: The study found that 37% of the participants were aware of the TOP Act while 63.8% viewed legalization of abortion for any reason as wrong. The study results also showed that widowed women were 8 times more likely to be aware of the TOP Act compared to single women (AOR: 8.262;95% CI: 1.105, 61.778). Women in business were significantly more likely to be aware of the TOP Act compared to those who reported having no occupation. (AOR: 2.61;95% CI: 1.246, 5.499). Limited access to information, the social stigma attached to abortion, health care providers’ attitudes, cultural norms, values and religious beliefs, restrictive legal requirements, and absence of a supportive network were some of the barriers affecting awareness and utilization of available safe abortion care services. Conclusions: The research findings concluded that a significant lack of awareness among women of reproductive age regarding the Termination of Pregnancy (TOP) Act. The majority of respondents held the view that abortion should only be legalized for medical reasons. Furthermore, there was a notable gap in knowledge concerning the penal code’s provisions on abortion.