102 The Journal of Medical Research 2018; 4(2): 102-105 Research Article JMR 2018; 4(2): 102-105 March- April ISSN: 2395-7565 © 2018, All rights reserved www.medicinearticle.com Received: 18-02-2018 Accepted: 10-04-2018 *Corresponding author: Andreas Chiabi Pediatric Unit, Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital / Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 4362, Yaounde, Cameroon Email: andy_chiabi[at]yahoo.co.uk Practices of mothers towards infant seizures in Yaounde, Cameroon Andreas Chiabi 1,2 , Seraphin Nguefack 1,2 , Rita Tchematcha Monkam 3 , Jacob Enoh 1 , Félicitée Nguefack Dongmo 1,2 , Lydienne Lesly Bilo’o 2 , Elie Mbonda 2 1 Pediatric Unit, Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital, Cameroon 2 Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde I, Cameroon 3 Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Sante, Université des Montagnes, Bangangté, Cameroon Abstract Aim: Seizures are common neurological disorders in the pediatric age group and occur most often in children at home. The study was aimed at identifying the different practices initiated at home by parents to their children during a first episode of seizure. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study done at the Pediatrics unit of the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital over a six months period. A total of 100 mothers were interviewed from 1 st March to 31 st August 2014. Enrolled in the study were mothers whose children were hospitalized after the first episode of seizure. The children also had to be the first among siblings. Data collected included socio demographic variables and attitudes towards the convulsing child, and were entered into a pre-tested questionnaire. Results: We noted that 44% of the mothers were within the 20-30years age group, 42% unemployed, 69% single mothers and 57% had attended secondary school. Most parents (74%) had tried to stop the seizure using inhalation of a strong odor or smoke from burnt clothes (13.4%), putting an object into the child’s mouth (8.7%), auto-medication (6.3%) and forcing the child’s head inside the latrine (5.5%). Despite these harmful methods to stop the seizures, 98% of the mothers still brought their children to the hospital afterwards. Conclusion: Overall, the practices of the parents towards seizures were inappropriate and harmful. It is thus important that health professionals inform and educate parents on seizures, and on home management before taking them to a health facility. Keywords: Child, Seizures, Mothers, Practices, Cameroon, Africa. INTRODUCTION A seizure is a transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms resulting from abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain [1] . In Cameroon, febrile seizures affect 6.1% of pediatric hospitalizations. Seizures are most often spectacular, and are often diversely interpreted by parents and often provoke fright and inappropriate home practices [2] . In most cases, they occur at home, and as a result parents are the first to be implicated in the home management. Their practices at home are therefore determinant in the outcome. Seizures are often dramatic leading to erroneous interpretations, fright and inappropriate practices by the parents [3-7] . In Africa, some studies indicate that parents prefer first going to traditional healers when their children have seizures [6] , thus delay in seeking for appropriate management. In Cameroon, several studies have been made on seizures [2] , but none has studied parental practices. We thus undertook this study with the aim of assessing home management by parents to their children with the first ever episode of seizures in a Cameroonian context. METHODOLOGY This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in the General Pediatric Unit of the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital, in Cameroon, over a period of 6 months (from 1 st March to 31 st August 2014). The hospital is a referral hospital in Yaounde, the capital city of Cameroon and receives patients from the whole city and other parts of the country, and of all ethnicities. Data collection procedure Our sampling was consecutive and consisted of all mothers whose children were admitted for seizures. Enrolled in the study were mothers of all children with the first ever seizure and none of the siblings in the family must have had a seizure before. Were excluded from our study any child presenting with a paroxysmal phenomenon mimicking seizures, and children less than one month.