Prevalence of gestrointestinal symptoms in pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE
This study is aimed at determining the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms among healthy pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.


METHODS
Questionnaires were randomly administered to consecutive antenatal clinic attendees until the sample size was reached.


RESULTS
Three hundred and seventy pregnant women were interviewed. Heart burns, easy fullness and nausea were the commonest gastrointestinal symptoms in 45%, 40.2% and 39.9% of cases respectively. Primigravidae had significantly more symptoms than multiparae. There were also significantly more gastrointestinal symptoms in the first trimester of pregnancy.


CONCLUSIONS
Gastrointestinal symptoms are common among healthy pregnant women. And even though these represent well-known physiological changes, they must be carefully assessed to exclude any pathological disorder that may require intervention.
Audu
B M
BM
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College Of Medical Sciences, University Of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital Maiduguri, Borno State. bmak190@yahoo.com
Mustapha
S K
SK
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006356:Heartburn / Q000453:epidemiology; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009325:Nausea / Q000453:epidemiology; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D009775:Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires