Condom: acceptability and use among patients attending sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic

Abstract

Obstetrical and gynaecological articles related to safe motherhood published in the East African Medical Journal between 1924 and 1989 were reviewed. A total of 133 topics were published. Out of these, 84 (63.2%) were obstetrical and 49 (36.8%) gynaecological. Out of the obstetrical topics, 66 were pregnancy related, 12 were public health and the rest medical topics. A rapid increase in the number of the relevant topics is seen especially after 1970. This is probably due to the increase in the number of of obstetricians training locally in the African region and the international nature of the Journal during the last two decades. PIP: A review of all published articles in the East African Medical Journal between 1924 and 1989 was presented. All articles pertaining to obstetrical and gynecological topics related to maternal care were reviewed. The aim was to identify the role the journal has played in distributing information about safe motherhood research. This journal is one of the oldest to present information originating in Africa and recently has gained international recognition. Articles that were studies conducted in other parts of the world are now published. The number of topics devoted to obstetrics and safe motherhood has increased during the past 20 years. Publication by researchers in this journal has contributed to specialists advancement within universities and medical areas. The first maternal-related article was published in 1024 and was devoted to performance of a cesarean section on a woman in Mombasa, an article of particular importance for African countries with high maternal mortality and morbidity from child birth. There have been a total of 133 articles on motherhood since 1924, of which 84 were on obstetrics and 49 on gynecology. World War II probably affected the decline in articles during the period 1940-49. There was a rapid increase in motherhood articles between 1950 and 1989, which also corresponded to an increase in trained obstetricians and gynecologists. Prior to 1970, most specialists were trained outside of Africa and did not publish in this journal. By subject area, there were 12 topics on public health related issues, 43 on prenatal care, 19 on delivery, 4 on postpartum care, and 6 on medically related issues such as infections, diabetes mellitus in pregnancy, hypertension, and heart disease.