Two lives, one bite: a six-year retrospective study on snakebite envenoming among pregnant women in Northeastern Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION

Pregnant women with neglected tropical diseases like snakebites are considered doubly neglected due to the intersection of multiple vulnerabilities, including compounded challenges stemming from socio-economic marginalization, inadequate healthcare access and most importantly, the lack of targeted public health interventions. Despite these concerns, there is a substantial gap in the literature regarding the presentation, management and outcomes of snakebites among pregnant women, especially in low-resource settings like northeastern Nigeria.

METHODS

Consequently, a retrospective observational study was conducted at the Snakebite Treatment and Research Hospital (SBTRH) in Kaltungo, Northeastern Nigeria. Six years of patient folders were searched to identify patients of all ages that were pregnant at the time of presentation.

RESULTS

Between 2019 and 2024, 77 pregnant women presented to SBTRH with snakebites. The median age among pregnant women presenting with snakebite was 26 [interquartile range (IQR) 20-30], and most had not completed any level of education (n = 70, 91%). On average, patients were not experiencing their first pregnancy (median gravidity 3, IQR 1-5), and the median gestational age at admission was 22 weeks (IQR 16-28 weeks). Most patients (n = 73, 95%) visited a traditional healer prior to arriving at SBTRH. All patients recovered from snakebite. Of the two women that gave birth prior to discharge, one underwent spontaneous vaginal delivery followed by neonatal death, and one underwent caesarean section, where both mother and child survived.

DISCUSSION: These findings underscore the urgent need to recognize and respond to the unique vulnerabilities of pregnant women affected by snakebite in northeastern Nigeria. There is a need to integrate snakebite education during antenatal care period, engaging traditional healers in referral networks, developing pregnancy-specific clinical protocols and strengthening surveillance systems to capture maternal and foetal outcomes comprehensively.