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incidence, e ve n wi thin t he same r eg i on. If we ccnsLde r- the
results of t h ese Nigerian s tudies, t ogethe r with that of the
American studies [173,176, 194, 195) , it is probable t hat the
incidence of postpartum hype rtens ion in sub -Saha r an Africa
could range from 15-50% i n t he r egi o n . Post partum hypertension
therefore co uld be a disease of impor t an c e in the puerperium .
The risk f or de v e l oping postpartum h yperten s i on in the
po o r African communities is high, if one considers the
prevalence of kn own p redisposing factors . Women , for instance ,
s t a r t child b e a ring at much yo unger a ge s , c ont i nu e i nto muc h
older ages and with higher parities than their counterparts in
the developed wcrId . The incidences of other predisposing
factors such as mUltiple pregnancies, hyda t i d i f or m moles,
essential hype r t e ns i o n , and renal d i s e a s e s , are a lso much
higher [ 196-200 ] .
Of great importance too , are t h e findings t ha t essential
hy pertensi on , pre-eclampsia an d t r a ns i ent post-partum
hypertension, occur more frequent ly in neg roid pe rsons, futher
predicting t hat higher i ncidences wi ll occur in the t ropical
countries of Africa [2 0 1- 203] . I n a study i n Guya na, Which
also observed hypertens ive disease t o be higher among Blacks
t han Indians , it was noted t h a t a bo ut 18 .6% of the
hyperten s i v e bl a c k women r e port ed h a v i ng had hy pertensive
disease during pregnancy [203 ] . Perhaps too, the occurrence
also mostl . i n blacks o f a no ther diseases entity , po s t pa r tum
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