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Maternal Profiles and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study from Angola

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Abstract

Objectives

To characterize pregnant women admitted to Irene Neto Maternity Hospital, Lubango city, Huíla province, and their pregnancy outcomes.

Methods

We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional facility-based survey between October 2016 and September 2017, involving 500 pregnant women, followed from admission in labor until the end of delivery. Mean (SD) was computed for quantitative variables, while relative and absolute frequencies were determined for categorical variables. Additionally, confidence intervals were estimated.

Results

Among pregnant women 18.3% were adolescents (≤ 19 years) and 14.5% had advanced maternal age (≥ 35 years). Illiteracy was reported by 8.2%. One in three (33.6%) had a short stature (< 1.55 m). Malaria was the most frequent infection during pregnancy (16.3%). Upon admission, 18.1% were anemic (Hb < 11 g/dl) and 36.0% had hypertension (SBP ≥ 140 mmHg and/or DBP ≥ 90 mmHg), contrasting with the few cases reported of chronic hypertension and pregnancy-induced hypertension. There were 15 twin pregnancies. Cesarean section was performed in 25.2% of the women, although there was no medical indication for 23.0% of women having cesareans. Two maternal deaths occurred in our sample. Among live births from singleton pregnancies (97.1%), birth asphyxia (Apgar < 7 at 5 min) was observed in 22.7% and 10.3% had low birth weight (< 2.5 kg).

Conclusions

There are very few studies reporting pregnancy outcomes in Angola. This analysis presents data from Huíla province, the second most populous province. We identified characteristics for higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes: adolescence, illiteracy, and short stature. Among newborn outcomes, birth asphyxia and low birth weight demand special attention. Further research is needed to explore the non-medical indications for cesarean section and to better understand the twinning rate in Lubango.

Significance

The significance of this paper is that it is one of the very few reports contributing for the knowledge of detailed maternal, obstetric and newborn outcomes in Angolan women. Although our study only addresses the outcomes descriptively, it can be used as a first step in monitoring and improving outcomes of Angolan women. Maternal and child health is a key issue to address sustainable development in Angola.

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Data Availability

All relevant data are within the manuscript.

Code Availability

Not applicable.

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Funding

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal, supported this work through a scholarship assigned to the corresponding author [grant number 135499].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical-Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

    Dinamene Oliveira, Maria do Rosário Martins, Rita Castro & Filomena Pereira

  2. Health Sciences Faculty, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

    José Martinez de Oliveira

  3. Unidade de Cuidados Intensivos Neonatais, Hospital Professor Doutor Fernando Fonseca, Amadora, Portugal

    Maria Rosalina Barroso

  4. Gabinete de Ensino, Pesquisa e Pós-graduação, Clínica Girassol, Luanda, Angola

    Lemuel Cordeiro

Authors
  1. Dinamene Oliveira
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  2. José Martinez de Oliveira
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  3. Maria do Rosário Martins
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  4. Maria Rosalina Barroso
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  5. Rita Castro
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  6. Lemuel Cordeiro
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  7. Filomena Pereira
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Contributions

DO, FP, MRM, RC and MRB designed the research; DO collected the data; DO, MRM and JMO analysed the data; DO and FP wrote the paper; all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript; all authors approved the final version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dinamene Oliveira.

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Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics Approval

The Angola Ethics Committee (reference 35/2017) approved this study.

Consent to Participate

Pregnant women had to sign an informed consent form to be included in this study.

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Not applicable.

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Oliveira, D., de Oliveira, J.M., Martins, M.d.R. et al. Maternal Profiles and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study from Angola. Matern Child Health J 27, 2091–2098 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-023-03782-6

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