Prevalence of HIV infection among pregnant women presenting to two hospitals in Ogun state, Nigeria

AimThe aim of this three-year retrospective study (2010–2012) is to determine the prevalence, trend and factors associated with HIV infections among pregnant women presenting to Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH) and Redeemed Camp Maternity Centre (RCMC) both in Ogun state, south-west, Nigeria.BackgroundHIV in pregnant women has become an important focus of HIV research because of its role in the spread of HIV infection, particularly, among children.Materials and methodsA total of 4140 case records comprising 2272 at OOUTH and 1868 at the RCMC were reviewed. Of these, 3486 (84.2%) had records on HIV status. Test of association was carried out to determine factors associated with HIV infection in the two hospitals.ResultsOf 3486 ante-natal clinic attendees during the study period, 272 were confirmed HIV positive resulting in an overall prevalence rate of 7.7%. Analysis of records at the RCMC showed a prevalence of 0.41% (5/1212) while 11.5% (262/2272) was observed at the OOUTH. The prevalence was higher among older women than the younger ones. In RCMC, test of independence showed that HIV prevalence was dependent on parity and religion (p < 0.05) while in OOUTH, it was dependent on gravidity and parity (p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe overall HIV prevalence rate of 7.7% observed among pregnant women in this study was higher than the national average of 4.1%. Furthermore, HIV prevention campaigns need to be tailored towards older women as done for the younger ones in Nigeria, since prevalence was higher in the former than the latter.