Most times, pregnancy is considered a joyous event, but it also heightens a woman’s emotional and psychological state. Globally, some women suffer mental disorders, especially in developing nations. In Nigeria, there is evidence for a high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress during pregnancy. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the severity and factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress among pregnant women in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. A facility-based cross-sectional survey was carried out in the two tertiary hospitals in Port Harcourt city between September and October 2022 using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed using STATA 16. The proportional odds model (POM) was used, and the statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. A total of 413 respondents participated in the study, of whom 9.5%, 26.6%, and 17.3% had at least moderate depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. Marital status, educational levels, and employment status were significantly associated with depression. Marital status, religion, and trimester were significantly associated with anxiety, while age, marital status, educational level, religion, income, trimester, and previous abortions/miscarriages were significantly related to stress. This study showed evidence of moderate-to-extremely severe anxiety, stress, and depression, as well as factors associated with these disorders. Our findings have implications for strengthening mental health policies as they pertain to antenatal care.

Maternal mortality ratios in sub-Saharan Africa remain high and worrisome. Moreover, maternal health indicators have remained poor despite large efforts in the last two decades. This study assesses maternal mortality patterns by age and country. The demographic and health survey data were used for the study. Based on the results, countries with the lowest adult female mortality rate include Senegal, Comoros, Rwanda, Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe, Gambia, and Ethiopia. In addition, Chad (44.7%), Niger (38.7%), the Congo Democratic Republic (34.8%), Nigeria (34.2%), Mauritania (32.0%), Senegal (29.2%), Liberia (28.8%), Benin (27.8%), and Guinea (27.5%), respectively, reported the highest female deaths that are pregnancy-related. Overall, Lesotho (1024; 95% CI: 731–1318), Liberia (913; 95% CI: 638–1189), Chad (860; 95% CI: 728–993), Congo Democratic Republic (846; 95% CI: 690–1003), Sierra Leone (796; 95% CI: 632–960) and Guinea (724; 95% CI: 531–916) had the leading pregnancy-related mortality ratio per 100,000 live births. The study found that the patterns of death vary across different countries. There is a need for concerted efforts to reduce pregnancy-related deaths in sub-Saharan countries.

Objective: We investigated the prevalence and risk factors of ARI in children under 5 years old in 37 SSA countries. Methods: Data from Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) of 37 African countries was examined in this analysis. Data from children under the age of 5 years old were examined. Forest plot was used to identify disparities in the occurrence of ARIs across SSA countries. Results: We observed a higher prevalence of ARI among children under 5 in Uganda, Kenya, Sao Tome and Principe (9% each), Gabon, Chad, Eswatini (8% each), Burundi, Ethiopia, Congo Democratic Republic (7.0% each). The prevalence of ARI among under-five children who sought medical advice/treatment from health facility was higher in South Africa (88%), Sierra Leone (86%), Tanzanian (85%), Guinea (83%) and Uganda (80%). The prevalence rate of ARI among under-five children who received antibiotics was higher in Tanzania (61%), Sao Tome and Principe (60%), Rwanda and Congo (58% each), Angola (56.0%), Mozambique (54.0%), Kenya (53.0%), Namibia (52.0%) and Gabon (50.0%). This study found that the household wealth index, maternal education, and urban residence were significantly associated with ARI (p <0.001). A higher prevalence of ARI was observed among urban residents, low income families, and those with mothers with lower education. Conclusion: ARI prevalence could be reduced by improving household socioeconomic status, child nutrition and community awareness of indoor and outdoor pollution. Interventions and programs focused on early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of ARIs are crucial in reducing ARIs particularly in developing countries.

Despite the adverse effects of self-medication (SM), such as antimicrobial drug resistance, drug addiction, allergy, worsening of ailment, organ damage, disability, and death, the practice is still common and increasingly practiced globally, even among pregnant women. This study investigated the prevalence and factors influencing self-medication among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in urban tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. A facility-based cross-sectional study was carried out in two tertiary hospitals in Port Harcourt between 25 September and 24 October 2022, using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and logistics regression techniques, and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. A total of 413 respondents participated in the study. The prevalence of SM was 31.0% (95% CI = 26.7–73.3). Women who were not married and those with less than secondary education had the highest prevalence, 60.5% (95% CI = 45.1–74.0) and 51.1% (95% CI = 42.7–59.4), respectively. The common drugs used for SM were Paracetamol, antimalarials, antibiotics, cough and cold medicines, and herbal products. While the reasons for SM were emergency illness, high cost at health facilities, and distance to the health facility. The commonest illnesses/symptoms that necessitated SM included body pain, headache, fever, cold and cough, and vaginal discharge. Married women and those educated above the secondary level had lower odds of practicing SM compared to their counterparts; married (AOR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.18–0.78) and >secondary level (AOR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.18–0.51). This study showed that a significant proportion of pregnant women practiced SM and marital status and educational level were the factors influencing SM in the studied population. We recommend public health education and reproductive health programmes aimed at discouraging unmarried women and those with minimal education from the irrational use of drugs during pregnancy.

The impact of chronic diseases on labour force participation is not frequently examined or considered as part of cost-of-illness studies. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of chronic diseases on labour force participation among South African women. This study included 6126 women from the 2016 South African Demographic and Health Survey. Labour force participation/employment was the outcome variable. Data were analyzed in percentage and multivariable binary logistic regression. Results showed that approximately 28.7% of women participated in the labour force and about 5.0% had diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes among women who are not in the labour force was 5.5%, whereas those in the labour force reported 3.8% prevalence of diabetes. The diabetic women had 35% reduction in labour force participation when compared with non-diabetic women (aOR = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.48 to 0.89). Geographical region was associated with labour force participation. Rural women and those currently in union/living with a man had 35% (aOR = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.56 to 0.76) and 27% (aOR = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.64 to 0.85) reduction in labour force participation, respectively, when compared with their urban and single counterparts. The findings of this study revealed that diabetes was significantly associated with reduction in labour force participation among women.

Although screening services for cervical cancer have been proven to be effective, the lack of knowledge about the importance of screening is a significant challenge for women in Nigeria, especially women attending primary health care facilities. Incorporating health education directly into the routine of maternal child health services could enhance knowledge and enable better decision making about cervical cancer preventative services. This study evaluated the effect of a structured educational intervention on knowledge of cervical cancer screening among mothers bringing their children for Penta1 immunization at selected Primary Health Care facilities in Rivers State, Nigeria. A quasi-experimental one-group pre-test/post-test study was conducted among 500 mothers aged 25–44 years attending 24 selected PHC facilities between October and November 2024. Baseline data were collected using a validated interviewer-administered questionnaire. Participants subsequently received a structured educational intervention comprising interactive lectures, visual presentations, group discussions, and question-and-answer sessions. Knowledge was reassessed one month after the intervention using the same instrument. Descriptive statistics summarized participants' characteristics and knowledge levels, while the Wilcoxon signed-rank test assessed changes in knowledge scores. Effect size was calculated to determine the practical significance of the intervention. Baseline knowledge of cervical cancer screening was generally inadequate. The mean knowledge score increased significantly from 6.70 ± 4.98 before the intervention to 12.33 ± 1.26 after the intervention, representing a mean improvement of 5.63 points (95% CI: 5.18–6.08; p < 0.001). Overall, 397 (79.4%) participants demonstrated improved post-intervention knowledge, while the intervention produced a large educational effect ( r = 0.78). Significant improvements were observed across all assessed knowledge domains, including awareness of cervical cancer, recognition of HPV as the causative agent, knowledge of screening methods, recommended screening intervals, and the benefits of early detection. The structured educational intervention substantially improved knowledge of cervical cancer screening among mothers attending PHC immunization clinics. Integrating routine cervical cancer education into maternal and child health and immunization services within Primary Health Care could strengthen women's knowledge, promote informed health-seeking behaviour, and support Nigeria's progress toward achieving the WHO cervical cancer elimination targets.