Goitre prevalence in pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in a teaching hospital

This study aimed to determine goitre prevalence in pregnant women. Seven hundred pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, were interviewed and examined. The mean age of the subjects was 27.8 years, with mean parity of 2.65. Mean gestation was 28.5 weeks. A total of 97.4% were resident in Ilesa and surrounding towns and villages. Well or stream was the main water supply for nearly all the subjects. Only 7.3% of the subjects showed no thyroid enlargement. Early enlargement (1 a and 1 b ) occurred in 441 (63%) patients, Grade 2 enlargement in 166 (23.2%) and a grossly enlarged goitre in 40 (5.7%). The goitre rate was correlated with the age and parity of the patients.