PROFILE OF REGISTERED PRIMIGRAVIDAS WHO DEVELOPED GESTATIONAL HYPERTENSION OR PRE-ECLAMPSIA AT A TEACHING HOSPITAL IN NORTHEASTERN NIGERIA

Objective: To determine the incidence of gestational hypertension/pre-eclampsia among primigravidas and their profiles, at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri Nigeria.

Method: It was a retrospective survey of primigravidas who registered and attended antenatal clinic at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri Nigeria. Sixty (60) of the primigravidas who developed gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia during the antenatal period formed the subject of our analysis

Results: Of the 5,273 pregnancies that were booked during the period of the study, 125 developed either gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia. Of this 125, 60 were primigravidas. This gave an incidence of 5.9% for the primigravidas. Among the primigravidas who developed hypertension, thirty (50%) were 26-30 years old, fourteen (23.30%) were full-time housewives, thirty two (53.3%) weighed between 50 and 69 Kg, and more than 73% (44) booked in the last half (weeks) of their pregnancies.

Conclusion: With the incidence of 5.9% of our registered primigravidas developing gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia in pregnancy, the incidence among the unregistered may be much higher. Hence vigilance should be on all primigravidas in the antenatal clinic. The policy makers and the civil society organizations must intensify campaign on enlightening the entire community on the risk factors for developing hypertension in pregnancy.