A Cross-Sectional Study about Demographic and Medical Characteristics of Hypertensive Pregnant Women in Two Secondary Healthcare Facilities, in Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract

Background Hypertension is one of the major causes of related maternal deaths worldwide and it is one of the most common medical disorders encountered during pregnancy. Aim This study aimed at assessing the demographic and medical characteristics of hypertensive pregnant women in two secondary healthcare facilities, in Ilorin, Nigeria Method This was a cross-sectional study among 104 pregnant women with hypertension attending the outpatient department of General Hospital and Civil Service Clinic, Ilorin between March and May 2021. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on sociodemographics. Data on the medical characteristics of the respondents and their medications were extracted from the respondent's medical files. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ministry of Health and General Hospital, Ilorin. For statistical analysis for categorical measurements, the frequencies and percentages were computed. Results Seventy-five percent of the correspondents were below 36 years old, 97% were married, 79% had tertiary education, and 74% were above 24 weeks of gestation. About 68% of the correspondents had blood pressure more than or equal to 140/90 and 10% had blood pressure more than 160 mm Hg systolic or more than 100 mm Hg diastolic. About 78.8% of the correspondents had a family history of hypertension, 13.5% had a family history of diabetes mellitus, and 22.1% had a family history of obesity. About 27.9% had pre-existing hypertension, 61.5% developed hypertension before the end of 20 weeks of gestation, and 10.6% developed hypertension after 20 weeks of gestation. About 24% had their antihypertensive medication changed during pregnancy, 38.5% were treated with methyldopa, 31.7% with nifedipine, and 27% with nifedipine and methyldopa. Majority (83.6%) of the respondents were not adherent to their medications. Conclusion Two-third of the patients had poor blood pressure control irrespective of the fact that all were under drug therapy. Family history and large body mass index are the main risk factors for the development of hypertension during pregnancy. Noncompliance may play a significant role in no drug response.