April 2016 · Volume 5 · Issue 4 Page 1108 International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology Siakwa M et al. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2016 Apr;5(4):1108-1113 www.ijrcog.org pISSN 2320-1770 | eISSN 2320-1789 Research Article Chlamydia trachomatis infection and maternal outcomes in Southern Ghana Mate Siakwa 1 *, Dzigbodi Kpikpitse 2 , Wisdom Azanu 3 , Robert Bella Kuganab-Lem 4 , Emmanuel Hanson-Owoo 5 INTRODUCTION Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is a major cause of genitourinary infections with serious implication for maternal and neonatal health. 1 Majority of the CT infections in women are usually asymptomatic hence many infected individual may go undetected. The prevalence of the infection could be as high as 7.7% in women receiving antenatal care to 19% among pregnant adolescents. 2,3 CT infection in pregnancy is associated with ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, preterm labour, amniotitis, and premature rapture of membranes. 4- 10 Development of intra-partum fever and late onset endometritis after vaginal delivery has also been reported. Being a main cause of pelvic inflammatory disease CT is implicated in infertility. 11-14 The impact of CT in pregnancy on neonatal and infant health has also been widely investigated. Some of the adverse outcomes are low birth weight, prematurity, still 1 School of Nursing, University of Cape Coast, Ghana 2 School of Nursing, Garden City University College Kumasi, Ghana 3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana 4 School of Allied Health, University for Development Studies Tamale, Ghana 5 Cape Coast Teaching Hospital Cape Coast Ghana Received: 29 January 2016 Revised: 03 March 2016 Accepted: 08 March 2016 *Correspondence: Mate Siakwa, E-mail: msiakwa@yahoo.co.uk Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Despite the fact that Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection in pregnancy is known to have grave impact on maternal and neonatal health, routine CT screening in pregnancy is not available in Ghana The main aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and adverse maternal outcomes of CT infection among pregnant women attending antennal clinic at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. Methods: Two hundred and thirty two (232) pregnant women screened for CT infection by PCR were purposively selected and enrolled into the study after informed consent had been obtained. They included one hundred and twelve (112) participants with positive CT (cases) and 120 participants without CT infections (control). A structured questionnaire was used to collect their socio demographic, obstetric and medical history. They were monitored thereafter and data on maternal outcomes were collected. Results: The prevalence of CT infection was 5.6% (112/2014). A history of STI/UTI (p<0.001) spontaneous abortion (p=0.02), preterm labour (p<0.001) and intrapartum or postpartum fever (p<0.001) were found to be associated with CT infection. However a history of Stillbirth, PID and having been treated for infertility were not associated with CT infection. Participants with CT infection were more likely to have PROM (p<0.001) and FSL (p<0.001) than those who were not infected. Parity and mode of delivery on the other hand were not associated with CT infection. Conclusions: To alleviate the adverse maternal outcomes, screening for CT infection in pregnancy should be offered routinely to pregnant women to promote early detection and treatment. Keywords: Chlamydia, infection, obstetric outcomes, Ghana DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20160867