BACKGROUND Post dural puncture headache can be a debilitating complication of subarachnoid anaesthesia for a new mother. Successful management of post dural puncture headache requires adherence to clear policies and protocols with close follow up of patients by an experienced obstetric anaesthetist. OBJECTIVES To examine the cumulative incidence and severity of post dural puncture headache in...

BACKGROUND Maternal death reviews and obstetric audits identify causes and circumstances related to occurrence of a maternal death or serious complication and inform improvements in quality of care. Given Nigeria's high maternal mortality, the lessons learned from past experiences can provide a good evidence base for informed decision making. We aimed to synthesise findings from maternal death ...

Rupture of uterus is a serious obstetric complication. Consequences can be more dangerous if it remains undiagnosed. Spontaneous rupture of a scarred uterus is an uncommon event but it is rare for it to be followed by vaginal delivery and to be diagnosed postpartum period is still rare. We report a case of spontaneous uterine rupture which was followed by a vaginal delivery which was diagnosed ...

Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura-Haemolytic Uremic Syndrome (TTP-HUS) is a rare pregnancy and postpartum complication that may simulate the more common obstetric complications, preeclampsia and the syndrome of haemolysis, elevated liver functions tests, low platelets (HELLP). We describe a 26 years old patient who presented with peri-partum TTP-HUSand was initially treated as a case of HELLP...

Epidural analgesia is a widely used method of pain control in the labor and delivery setting but is not without risks. We present a case of Horner's syndrome and trigeminal nerve palsy as a rare complication of epidural analgesia in an obstetric patient. Although reported in few instances in the anesthesia literature, awareness among providers in obstetrics is critical because this could be the...

Background: A devastating complication of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS), which is extremely rare, difficult to diagnose, and portends a poor prognosis with high mortality. Intra-abdominal and obstetric surgeries have been regarded as precipitating factors in the development of CAPS in patients with pre-existing APS. We present the unique case o...

Background  Treatment for neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) primarily involves maternal administration of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy and prednisone according to protocols based on risk stratification. While IVIG is generally well tolerated, hematologic side effects are a potential complication. Case  We present the successful management of a rare complication of materna...

A bilateral cornual uterine dehiscence is reported, which occurred 14 weeks after in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in a patient having a medical history of previous bilateral salpingectomy via laparoscopy. Uterine rupture is a rare obstetric complication usually occurring during the third trimester of pregnancy within a uterus which has previously undergone an operation. Ectopic pregnancy is a well...

One of the obstetric interventions introduced to address this issue is the cesarean – delivery. Cesarean delivery is defined as the birth of a fetus through incisions in the abdominal wall (laparotomy) and the uterine wall (hysterotomy) [Cunningham, 2001]. Historically, cesarean delivery was associated with a high complication rate, sometimes causing maternal death. In the era of modern medicin...

BACKGROUND Skilled care during and immediately after delivery has been identified as one of the key strategies in reducing maternal mortality. However, recent estimates show that the status of skilled care during delivery remained very low in Ethiopia. Birth preparedness and complication readiness has been implemented as comprehensive strategy to fill this gap. However, its effectiveness in imp...