DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

OF
A WEB BASED FERTILITY MONITORING
SYSTEM

PROJECT PROPOSAL

INTRODUCTION
With respect to several undisputed factors necessary for a countrys population,
demographic record; which is the analysis of factors, such as births, deaths, income or
the incidence of diseases etc. (where such variations can be measured) cannot be
overemphasized.
Research has shown that such records constitutes a large percentage to data needed for
demographic computations, hence its acquisition is essential.
National Bureau of Statistics in Nigeria revealed that demographic records are
acquired in an inconsistent manner, with respect to the quota such records take in
overall population, population estimation or forecasting in turn is subjected to strong
parallax compared to what acceptable estimate should be. O. Ajibola, 2009.
In hospitals generally, several studies has indicated that fertility rate can best be
monitored at hospitals, to this effect, using Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching
Hospital as a case study, fertility rate is therefore subjected to review, such that this
project is centered on examining the process of acquiring the data needed for fertility
rate computation, methods or systems used and suggest new measures of acquiring the
data.
This project proposal is developed with the aim of seeking consent with respect to the
said project topic.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
During the analysis of the existing methods used in acquiring fertility record in the
hospital, herein, OAUTH, it was discovered that an hybridized method of data
collection is used; where records are collated on logs and record books and
subsequently sent to a superior record keeping officer using electronic mail, this
process, although effective to a certain extent revealed the following;
- Birth records are not promptly captured, however if captured in real-time,
captured data has little or no integrity due to several factors which include
language barriers between parents and personnel gathering data for a large
percentage are illiterate, faulty discretion such as writing Oladeji when
Oladiji is the real name of the baby, 3kg in place of 2.96kg etc.
- Paper based data acquisition process are usually prone to falsifications, also
since the records are later digitized, there is a very high tendency for the
records to get missing in transit; for those digitizing the records are different
from personnel acquiring the record.
- Logistics and high cost of maintaining paper based records
- Scattered documentation which leads to missing records

JUSTIFICATION OF PROBLEM STATEMENT

The problems encountered while acquiring the birth records has proven that if
eventually the records get to demographic centers, it would have taken a longer time,
it may also not serve the purpose it is intended for, on the other hand, it may not even
get there due to the aforesaid challenges, therefore;
- A system that will proffer solution to the said problems is highly needed
- A simpler and accessible medium should be encouraged for birth records
acquisition

- With respect to expedite action given to pregnant women in delivery rooms in

the hospital, a system which is fast should also be introduced to capture the
birth records
In view of this, developing a web based system for acquiring birth records seems very
crucial.

AIM
The aim of this project is to design and implement a web based birth rate monitoring
system.

OBJECTIVES
With respect to the aim of this project, milestones in line with it are not limited to the
following;
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

To review and infer factors making up the existing system

To introduce management information system
To introduce database management system
To develop a user friendly client server based system that will facilitate
record acquisition
To design a robust report system that will aid demographic process

LITERATURE REVIEW
In developing countries, accurate and complete population data and medical records
usually do not exist. Furthermore, estimates of the rate of preterm birth in developing
countries are influenced by a range of factors including varying procedures used to
determine gestational age, national differences in birth registration processes,
heterogeneous definitions used for preterm birth, differences in perceptions of the
viability of preterm infants and variations in religious practices such as local burial
customs, which can discourage the registering of preterm births.
The development of specific indicators means that the management of labour
and birth can be compared between different countries and different National Health
Scheme providers. An explicit normal birth indicator is needed. Evidence shows there
have been wide variations in normal birth rates between different maternity services
providers. For example, in 2006, normal delivery rates in obstetric units in England
ranged between 31% and 59%, averaging at 47%, and from 32% to 49% in Scotland,
averaging at 41% in 2008. (Miranda Dodwell and Mary Newburn, 2010)
There is still a wide misconception about pregnant women's choice in giving
birth in the hospital or homes, a number of researches carried out in Europe and
Oceania indicated that it is safe to deliver at home, while in The America's, delivering
in hospitals seems better, with regards to governmental records of the births, there is a
delay in processing birth records with regards to those who gave birth at homes.
(Anderson and Murphy, 1995)
In the UK, the Maternity Matters: choice, access and continuity of care in a
safe service report (Department of Health, 2007) outlines four national choice
guarantees women have regarding their care. These are choices of how to access care,
the type of care, the birthplace and the place of postnatal care. Within the choices of
birthplace, homebirth is explicitly stated as an option. This report was followed by a
comprehensive strategic vision of new entitlements for women in regards to maternity
and early childhood services; however, this makes birth records impossible due to

several distance margins between parents and governmental bodies in charge (UK
Department of Health, 2010).
The crude birth rate may be measured as the number of births in a given
population during a given time period (such as a calendar year), divided by the total
population and multiplied by 1,000. According to the United Nations' World
Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision Population Database, the crude birth rate is
the number of births over a given period, divided by the person-years lived by the
population over that period. It is expressed as the number of births per 1,000
population. Another frequently-used indicator is the total fertility rate, the average
number of children born to a woman during her lifetime. The total fertility rate is
generally a better indicator of current fertility rates because unlike the crude birth rate,
it is not affected by the age distribution of the population.
Fertility rates tend to be higher in less economically-developed countries and lower in
more economically-developed countries. Factors affecting birth rate Government
population policy, such as pronatalist or antinatalist policies (for instance, a tax on
childlessness) Availability of family planning services, such as birth control and sex
education Availability and safety of abortion and the safety of childbirth Infant
mortality rate: A family may have more children if a country's infant mortality rate is
high, since it is likely some of those children will die. Existing age-sex structure
Typical age of marriage Social and religious beliefs, especially in relation to
contraception and abortion Industrialization: In a preindustrial agrarian economy,
unskilled (or semiskilled) manual labor was needed for production; children can be
viewed as an economic resource in developing countries, since they can earn money.
As people require more training, parents tend to have fewer children and invest more
resources in each child; the higher the level of technology, the lower the birth rate (the
demographic- economic paradox).

METHODOLOGY
Data is sourced using primary and secondary means; data primary sources include
questionnaires, surveys and reports carried out in the hospital.
Secondary source includes reports from internet and inferred facts from the analyzed
primary source of data.
A relationship is established between all the identified elements existing such that a
data flow diagram is conceptualized, this data flow diagram is further used to develop
the application. It is further subjected to diverse test and documented for usage.

REFERENCES
Anderson, R. E. and P. A. Murphy (1995). "Outcomes of 11,788 planned home births
attended by certified nurse-midwives: a retrospective descriptive study." Journal of
Nurse-Midwifery 40(6): 483-492.
Department of Health. 2007 Maternity matters: choice, access and continuity of care
in a safe service. London: Department of Health; 2007. Available from:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAn
dGuidance/DH_073312
Miranda Dodwell and Mary Newburn 2010 "Normal birth as a measure of the quality
of care published by NCT, UK pg 7
United Nations World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision Population Database
culled from http://esa.un.org/UNPP/index.asp%3Fpanel%3D7