Prevalence of iodine deficiency among pregnant women in Gwembe and Sinazongwe districts of Southern Province, Zambia: a cross-sectional study

Background: Maternal iodine deficiency is one of the common causes of morbidity and mortality during pregnancy. Maternal iodine deficiency during pregnancy is associated with a number of adverse outcomes such as abortion, stillbirth, congenital anomalies, perinatal mortality and irreversible mental retardation. A study conducted in Zambia among pregnant women in 2013 on the prevalence of […]

When i eat well, i will be healthy, and the child will also be healthy”: Maternal nutrition among hiv-infected women enrolled in a livelihood intervention in western kenya

Background: Food insecurity remains a major obstacle to achieving health and well-being for individuals living with HIV in western Kenya. Studies have shown that pregnant women are vulnerable to experiencing food insecurity worldwide, with significant consequences for both maternal and child health. The Shamba Maisha cluster randomized controlled trial in western Kenya (which means “farming […]

Factors Associated with the Uptake of Antenatal Tetanus Toxoids Containing Vaccine by First-Time Mothers in Nigeria: Findings from the 2018 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey

Background. Maternal and neonatal tetanus remains a public health problem in low-and-middle-income countries despite the increasing investment in tetanus toxoid containing vaccines (TTCV). Nigeria still records fatalities from tetanus, predominantly in women of reproductive age and in newborns. This is largely due to poor access to vaccinations and high rates of unsupervised labour and childbirth. […]

Incidence of neonatal mortality and its predictors among live births in Ethiopia: Gompertz gamma shared frailty model

Background: Neonatal mortality remains a serious public health concern in developing countries including Ethiopia. Ethiopia is one of the countries with the highest neonatal mortality in Africa. However, there is limited evidence on the incidence and predictors of neonatal mortality at the national level. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the incidence of neonatal mortality […]

Four out of ten married women utilized modern contraceptive method in Ethiopia: A Multilevel analysis of the 2019 Ethiopia mini demographic and health survey

Background Modern contraceptive method is a product or medical procedure that interferes with reproduction from acts of sexual intercourse. Globally in 2019, 44% of women of reproductive age were using a modern method of contraception but it was 29% in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, the main aim of this analysis was to assess the prevalence of […]

Ghana’s Ensure Mothers and Babies Regular Access to Care (EMBRACE) program: Study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

Background: The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals call for improving maternal and child health status. Their progress, however, has been minimal and uneven across countries. The continuum of care is a key to strengthening maternal, newborn, and child health. In this context, the Japanese government launched the Ghana Ensure Mothers and Babies Regular Access to […]

Reaching Mothers and Babies with Early Postnatal Home Visits: The Implementation Realities of Achieving High Coverage in Large-Scale Programs

Background:Nearly half of births in low-income countries occur without a skilled attendant, and even fewer mothers and babies have postnatal contact with providers who can deliver preventive or curative services that save lives. Community-based maternal and newborn care programs with postnatal home visits have been tested in Bangladesh, Malawi, and Nepal. This paper examines coverage […]

The Global Network Maternal Newborn Health Registry: a multi-country, community-based registry of pregnancy outcomes

Background: The Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research (Global Network) conducts clinical trials in resource-limited countries through partnerships among U.S. investigators, international investigators based in in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) and a central data coordinating center. The Global Network’s objectives include evaluating low-cost, sustainable interventions to improve women’s and children’s health in […]

Longitudinal mediation analysis of the factors associated with trajectories of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among postpartum women in Northwest Ethiopia: Application of the Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) method

Introduction In recent years, literatures identified childbirth as a potentially traumatic experience resulting in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with 19.7 to 45.5% of women perceiving their childbirth as traumatic. A substantial variation in PTSD symptoms has been also indicated among women who experience a traumatic childbirth. However, there has been no research that has systematically […]

Evaluation of a novel device for the management of high blood pressure and shock in pregnancy in low-resource settings: Study protocol for a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised controlled trial (CRADLE-3 trial)

Background: Obstetric haemorrhage, sepsis and pregnancy hypertension account for more than 50% of maternal deaths worldwide. Early detection and effective management of these conditions relies on vital signs. The Microlife® CRADLE Vital Sign Alert (VSA) is an easy-to-use, accurate device that measures blood pressure and pulse. It incorporates a traffic-light early warning system that alerts […]