International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology ISSN 2736-1594, Vol. 14 (4), pp. 001-009, April, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

A Theoretical Analysis of Gender Inequality in Nigerian Reproductive Health and Its Sustainable Development Implications

Peter Ezeah* and Chinyere Achonwa

Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka

Accepted 02 February, 2026

If policies for the promotion of gender equality are to be realizable their goals must include equitable distribution of health-related resources in line with MDG goals 3 and 5 which focus on promoting gender equality, empowerment of women and family planning. This requires careful identification of the similarities and differences in the use of family planning as a component of reproductive health. It also necessitates an analysis of the gendered obstacles that currently prevent men and women from participating or using family planning. Reasons for inequalities in the use of family planning include patriarchal culture, religious beliefs and sex preference manifested in discrimination against female children in health and general care. This paper examines gender inequality in family planning practice and sustainable development in Nigeria, using Patriarchal theory as the framework. The paper strongly argued that socio-cultural factors as well as gender roles influence the use of family planning and affect health and sustainable development in Nigeria. It outlines some measures for change which include policies to ensure universal access to reproductive health care, to reduce gender inequalities in access to resources and to relax the constraints of rigidly defined gender roles. The paper recommends that strategies to improve true sustainable development will depend on the empowerment of women in Nigerian through education and access to socio economic opportunities. The paper further recommends policy initiatives to include men in family planning programmes in Nigeria to engender equity in health and sustainable development.

Key words: Gender equity, family planning, patriarchy, sustainable development.
 

International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology ISSN 2736-1594, Vol. 14 (4), pp. 001-008, April, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Assessing the Impact of Community Dialogue on Health Facility Deliveries

Moth, Iscah A.1,2*, Kamiruka Jack2 and Olayo Rose2

1Ministry of Health, Rachuonyo South Sub County, Homa Bay County P. O. Box 42 Oyugis, Kenya.
2Great Lakes University of Kisumu, P. O. Box 2224 Kisumu, Kenya.

Accepted 23 December, 2025

Maternal mortality is a concern worldwide with higher disparities of 1 in 16 in developing compared to 1 in 2800 in developed countries. Kenya’s maternal mortality ratio has increased from 414 per 100,000 live births in 2003 to 488 per 100,000 live births in 2009. In 2010 the figure increased to 530 per 100,000 live births. The purpose of the study was to explore the effectiveness of dialogue in improving health facility deliveries in Rachuonyo District. The main objective of the study was to explore the effectiveness of dialogue in improving health facility deliveries. A prospective longitudinal research was conducted collecting baseline and post intervention data. Data was collected using semi structured in depth interview guides based on the causes of maternal deaths. Data collection and analysis were done concurrently to help increase insights and clarify parameters under study till saturation of information. A manual for training CHWs was developed based on gaps identified from baseline data. Community health workers were trained on the community dialogue model addressing gaps identified from baseline phase. Implementation of the dialogue model was conducted by the trained community health workers at the health facility and at the community within households. Baseline findings of study included inadequate equipment and staff at the health facility, late gestation at first visit, limited knowledge on complications, expected date of delivery, frequency of antenatal care (ANC) visits and basic items collected in preparation for arrival of the baby. A post intervention evaluation was done with post natal mothers taken through dialogue to assess effectiveness of dialogue. Findings showed improved knowledge on complications, expected date of delivery, frequency of ANC visits, basic items collected in preparation for arrival of the baby and the role of the husband in relation to the care of the mother. The study concluded that inadequate staffing, supplies and equipment contribute to low uptake of skilled attendant deliveries at the health facility. Mothers had inadequate information on birth preparedness before the intervention and this improved after the intervention. The study recommended facility improvement on provision of adequate staffing, supplies and equipments. There is need for task shifting of health education role from health workers to local community health workers (CHWs) because they were overwhelmed with integration of services and unable to provide adequate birth preparedness information to mothers.

Key words: Antenatal care, health facility delivery, community health worker, community.
 

International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology ISSN 2736-1594, Vol. 14 (4), pp. 001-010, April, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Women's Perceptions and Experiences of Intrapartum Nursing Care at Sulaimani Teaching Hospital 

Atiya, K. Mohammed

College of Nursing, University of suleimani, Iraq.

Accepted 18 November, 2025

For many women, labour and childbirth is a time of excitement and anticipation alongside uncertainty, anxiety, fear and pain. The memories and experiences of childbirth remain with the woman throughout her life. Clearly, the support and care they receive during this period is critical. The study aims to assess quality of nursing care offered during intrapartum and postpartum periods, patient satisfaction with care and to find the relationship between maternal satisfaction and some variables example, maternal age, education, duration of labor and reproductive history. A descriptive study was carried out from 22 April, 2013 through 15 February, 2014. A purposive sample of (200) postpartum women, delivered at the maternity teaching hospital. A questionnaire was comprised of two parts: socio-demographic characteristics and History of pregnancy and Women's views of birth Labor Satisfaction Questionnaire (WQBLS4). Data were collected through interview and analyzed through the application of descriptive and inferential statistical approaches by statisitical package for social sciences (SPSS) (17.0) program. ANOVA (F) test was used in the statistical assessment and the figure of p<0.05 was considered as the statistically significant. The study findings, indicate that women were satisfied regarding their expectations of the childbirth process, length and holding their baby, support from husband and their relative, in addition they were strongly satisfied with items related to professional support, environment and general satisfaction. The study concludes that the main factors identified as influencing satisfaction and dissatisfaction were, caregivers and client interaction, the characteristics of the setting, the involvement of clients in the caring process, the nurses’ perception of client characteristics, the outcome of labour for both mother and baby.

Key words: Satisfaction, nursing care, labour.
 

International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology ISSN 2736-1594, Vol. 14 (4), pp. 001-011, April, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

From Awareness to Action: Assessing Obstetric Danger Signs and Birth Preparedness Among Rural Pregnant Women in Eastern Ethiopia

Tadesse Tilahun and Makeda Sinaga

1Harara Health Science College, Harrai Region, Ethiopia.
2Nursing Department, College of public Health and Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Ethiopia.

Accepted 7 December, 2025

Key elements of the birth plan package include recognition of danger signs. Although there are some studies on birth preparedness and complication readiness in Ethiopia; most of them studied women attending antenatal care. Moreover, there is no data on the eastern part of the country where the culture is more liberal and cash crop is the mainstay of the livelihood. This study explored the association between knowledge of obstetric danger signs and birth preparedness among pregnant women in rural communities. A cross sectional community based study was conducted in Dere Teyara District (Woreda) of Rural Harari Region in the Eastern Ethiopia from March to May, 2013. The sample size was determined using formula for estimation of single population proportion. A total of 436 pregnant women were selected using simple random sampling technique. A pre tested interviewer administered structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant data. The data were coded and entered into and analyzed using SPSS for windows version 20. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to isolated independent predictors of good birth preparedness. Out of 423 respondents, 42.8% (181/423) of the pregnant women had good birth preparedness. A total of 28.6, 28.6 and 40.9% had good knowledge on obstetrical danger sign during pregnancy, delivery and post-partum period, respectively. The main danger signs during pregnancy mentioned were vaginal bleeding (75.5%) and severe headache (68.8%), while severe vaginal bleeding (81.1%) and prolonged labor (39.2%) were mentioned to be danger signs during delivery. Severe vaginal bleeding (68.3%) and swollen hands/face during the postpartum period (44.7%) were stated to be danger signs in the post partum period. On multivariable logistic regression model, women who had literate husbands were 2.8 times more likely to have good preparedness (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=2.83; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.423, 5.655). Literate mothers were 2.46 times more likely to be birth prepared (AOR=2.46; 95% CI= 1.09, 5.57). Likewise, women who started the first antenatal visit before four months of pregnancy were 15.5 times more likely to have good birth preparedness (AOR=15.50; 95% CI=3.713, 64.67). It was also observed that, women who had two or more ANC visits were nearly twice as likely to have good birth preparedness (AOR=1.96; 95% CI=1.13, 3.41). Women with good knowledge on obstetric danger signs during pregnancy (AOR=2.517; 95% CI=1.39, 4.55) and postnatal period (AOR=2.245; 95% CI=1.26, 3.97) were also more likely to be birth prepared than those without this knowledge. Antenatal care attendance, knowledge about obstetric danger signs and literacy status of the woman and her husband were strong predictors of birth preparedness practices. The findings imply the need for behavior change communication on obstetric danger signs and the importance early initiation of ANC follow up, especially to illiterate women to reduce maternal mortality.

Key word: Birth preparedness, complication readiness, birth.
 

International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology ISSN 2736-1594, Vol. 14 (4), pp. 001-011, April, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Socio-Demographic Drivers of Obstetric Danger Sign Recognition Among Women in the Lagos Atlantic Coastal Region

Bamgboye M. Afolabi¹*, Emmanuel N. U. Ezedinachi², Sidney Opara², Iwara Arikpo² and Abiodun Ogunwale³

1Health, Environment and Development Foundation, 34 Montgomery Road, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.
2Institute of Tropical Disease and Research, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
3Project Hope, Washington DC, USA.

Accepted 29 September, 2025

Implementation of safe motherhood programs in sub-Saharan African nations requires recognition of signs of potential emergency obstetric cases to facilitate immediate care seeking and urgent medical intervention. This questionnaire-based survey aimed to describe the perception of obstetric danger signs among women of reproductive age, living on the Atlantic coastline of rural Lagos. This cross-sectional, descriptive study took place in two non-congruent communities of Lagos State, Nigeria, between October 2012 and March 2013. Epi Info 7 was used to calculate sample size for the projected population in each community. Statistical analysis was carried out using STATA 13 software. A total of 829 females (20% single, 80% married) participated in the study. Among these, about 76 and 79% disagreed that bleeding and high blood pressure were obstetric danger signs, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed a positive and significant association between awareness of bleeding as obstetric danger sign as the dependent variable and both knowledge of antenatal care (t=6.53, p=0.000) and knowing a woman who died in pregnancy (t=3.34, p=0.001) as independent variables. Rural women on Atlantic Ocean coastline of Lagos had low perception of obstetric danger signs indicating promotion of acceptable maternal health in this environment.

Key words: Perception, danger signs, obstetrics, reproductive age, Atlantic Ocean coastline, rural.
 

International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology ISSN 2736-1594, Vol. 14 (3), pp. 001-008, March, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Formulation, Characterization, and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Sertraline-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles

Tian-Yuan Zhang2, Dan-Qing Chen3, Jian-Qing Gao2,4 and Yu-Lan Hu1,2*

¹Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology, Zhejiang University, 148 Tian-Mu-Shan Road, Hangzhou 310028,
P.R. China.
²Institute of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, P.R. China.
³Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
⁴Soft Matter Research Center, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, P.R. China.

Accepted 24 November, 2025

Sertraline is a worldwide used antidepressant for perinatal depression. However, the secreting of sertraline into milk arose the concerns for the potentially negative effects on breastfed infants. The present study aims to alter the biodistribution of sertraline by loading the drug into chitosan- nanoparticles. Our results demonstrated an effective way to load the water-soluble sertraline into nanoparticles, and keep the size around 200 nm. The in vivo results demonstrated the difference of sertraline concentration in plasma after the intravenous injection through the marginal ear vein in rabbits. Because of the protection of nanoparticles, the drug concentration in plasma increased 5 h post the injection, which may delay the tissue-distribution of sertraline. Thus, our results indicate that the nanoparticles-encapsulation may change the biodistribution of sertraline and offer a safe window for breastfeeding. Nevertheless, the sertraline in breast milk was still detectable after injection of sertraline-loaded nanoparticles. Thus, it still needs caution for lactating women to have antidepressant drugs during breastfeeding.

Key words: Sertraline, chitosan, nanoparticles, pharmacokinetics.