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BACKGROUND: Culture has been known to influence practices and beliefs of people world over. Several cultural practices have been noted among pregnant women who were passed from one generation to the next with its potential harmful and beneficial effect. The use of safety pin in is one of such cultural practices that are widely practiced by many pregnant Nigerian women. OBJECTIVE: We sought to gain a deeper understanding of the source of knowledge and motivation behind the use of safety pin on garments during pregnancy as well as explore potential harmful side effects of this cultural practice. METHODOLOGY: A total of 419 pregnant women completed questionnaires for a hospital-based cross-sectional study. Safety pin knowledge and motivation for use on garments were assessed using a pre-tested 16 item questionnaire. Consenting women either completed a self-administered structured questionnaire or utilized the help of trained research assistants. Chi-square tests were used to assess relationships between safety pin use on garments and predictor variables. Analysis was done with Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17. RESULTS: Of 419 participants, over half (n = 227) reported safety pin use on garments in pregnancy. About two-thirds (n = 177) of women who use safety pin reported older female relatives as their source of information. The mean age of the participants was 29.1 ± 5.74 (range 16-45 years). Traditional religion worshippers were more likely (81.2%) and Christians were least likely to use safety pin (50.7%) during pregnancy. Pregnant women with a tertiary education (50.4%) were least likely to use safety pin compared with women with no or less than a tertiary level of education. Protection of pregnancy against demons/witchcrafts was the reason given by 129 (56.8%) of participants using safety pin in pregnancy. CONCLUSION: The use of safety pin on garments during pregnancy is a common cultural practice in southwest Nigeria. Our findings also suggest that religion and education are important determinants of safety pin use. Although our study did not find a statistically significant difference in safety pin prick incidents among safety pin users, it remains a potential source of harm. Thus, there is a need to establish community and hospital based strategies that address potential cultural harmful practices while promoting culturally appropriate healthcare services.

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OBJECTIVE: To compare the expression of estrogen receptor α (ERα) and progesterone receptor (PR) in myometrium and leiomyomata tissue, and to correlate their expression with symptoms of uterine leiomyomata. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, intraoperative biopsy samples of leiomyomata and adjacent myometrial specimens were obtained from premenopausal women with uterine leiomyomata treated at a center in Nigeria between September 2013 and August 2014. Immunohistochemistry for ERα and PR expression was performed on the samples. The immunoscores of both receptors were correlated with the size and symptoms of the leiomyomata. RESULTS: Among 60 pairs of samples, leiomyomata had a higher mean expression of ERα (H-score 193.42±64.55 vs 153.29±69.13; P=0.01) and PR (214.86±66.56 vs 171.53±63.53; P<0.001) than did myometrial tissues. The tumor diameter correlated negatively with the immunoscores of both receptors irrespective of age, parity, and body mass index, but this was only significant for PR (ρ=-0.44; P<0.001). Downregulation of PR on leiomyomata was predicted to occur at a diameter of 11cm. Menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, and infertility occurred independently of steroid-receptor expression. CONCLUSION: Leiomyomata seem to depend on steroid hormones, but only during early tumor development. This could have implications for the selection of patients for medical management, especially with steroid-receptor modulators.

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One hundred and sixty-five pregnant Nigerian women attending the antenatal clinic of LAUTECH teaching hospital, Ogbomoso, Nigeria between January and April 2014 were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents were obtained. Respondents were also asked: if they had had their eye examined by an eye specialist during the index pregnancy, frequencies of visit to eye care centers and indications for their visitation. A history of previous eye examination by eye care specialist/visit to eye clinic was considered as eye care utilisation. Selection of eligible subjects who consented to participate in the study was done using simple random technique. Logistic regression model was used to control sociodemographic and obstetric factors in order to determine independent covariate factor influencing the use of eye care services. Among the population studied, only 46 (32%) had eye examination during the index pregnancy. Level of education and occupational status of the respondents were found to be statistically significant factors (p = 0.001 and 0.008, respectively). There is a need for a policy that will encourage regular eye care services usage during pregnancy.

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