knowledge, attitude and practices of pregnant women attending university of ilorin teaching hospital with regard to rubella

objective: this study was carried out to clarify the potential health-risk and to determinant the prevalence of antenatal rubella infection in north-central, nigeria. materials and methods: a descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out among pregnant women to establish the knowledge, attitude and practices with regards to antenatal rubella infection in early pregnancy in ilorin. a total of 92 subjects were recruited by simple random selection from the antenatal clinics of the university of ilorin teaching hospital, nigeria. results: results showed that congenitally defective eyes or ears were regarded as a greater burden to bear than a congenitally defective heart. pregnant mothers are more likely to abort a congenitally defective fetus before term. multigravid pregnant women are more likely to have an abortion (x 2 = 12.48, df = 4, p = 0.014), just as married pregnant women were more likely to abort a congenitally defective fetus before term (x 2 = 23.64, df = 4, p = 0.0). conclusion: it is a general assumption that nigeria today is majorly rural, therefore, health educational activities for prompt antenatal reporting in sub-urban ilorin, and nigeria as a whole, may be a relevant intervention for pregnant women.