Readiness of health facilities to provide emergency obstetric care in Papua New Guinea: Evidence from a cross-sectional survey
Objective To measure the readiness of health facilities in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to provide obstetric care and other maternal health services. Design Cross-sectional study involving random sample of health centres, district/rural hospitals (levels 3 and 4 facilities) and all upper-level hospitals operational at the time of survey. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data […]
Inequities in the use of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine for malaria prophylaxis during pregnancy in Nigeria
Background Intermittent presumptive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) of malaria using sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) was introduced in Nigeria in 2005 to reduce the burden of malaria in pregnancy. By 2013, 23% of reproductive aged women surveyed received SP for malaria prevention in their last pregnancy of the past 5 years. This paper highlights geographic and socio-economic variations […]
Facilitators and barriers to the implementation of a Mobile Health Wallet for pregnancy-related health care: A qualitative study of stakeholders’ perceptions in Madagascar
Financial barriers are a major obstacle to accessing maternal health care services in low-resource settings. In Madagascar, less than half of live births are attended by skilled health staff. Although mobile money-based savings and payment systems are often used to pay for a variety of services, including health care, data on the implications of a […]
Underweight, overweight and obesity among reproductive Bangladeshi women: A nationwide survey
The double burden of malnutrition is becoming more prevalent among Bangladeshi women. Underweight, overweight, and obesity were examined among women aged 15–49 years using the 2017–2018 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). A dataset of 20,127 women aged 15–49 years with complete Body Mass Index (BMI) measurements were extracted and categorized as underweight, normal weight, […]
Pregnancy intention and contraceptive use among HIV-positive Malawian women at 4-26 weeks post-partum: A nested cross-sectional study
Background Avoiding unintended pregnancies through family planning is a WHO strategy for preventing mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and maternal morbidity/mortality. We investigated factors associated with unintended index pregnancy, unmet contraceptive need, future pregnancy intention and current contraceptive use among Malawian women living with HIV in the Option B+ era. Methods Women who […]
Perceived differences on the role of traditional birth attendants in rural Tanzania: a qualitative study
Background: In many low to middle income countries, traditional birth attendants (TBAs) play various roles (e.g., provision of health education, referral to hospitals, and delivery support) that can potentially improve women’s access to healthcare. In Tanzania, however, the formal healthcare systems have not acknowleded the role of the TBAs. TBAs’ contributions are limited and are not […]
Is preterm birth associated with intimate partner violence and maternal malnutrition during pregnancy in Ethiopia? A systematic review and meta analysis
Background: Despite remarkable progress in the reduction of under-five mortality, preterm birth associated mortality and morbidity remains a major public health problem in Sub-saharan Africa. In Ethiopia, study findings on the association of preterm birth with intimate partner violence and maternal malnutrition have been inconsistent. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis estimates the pooled effect […]
Prevalence and factors associated with utilisation of postnatal care in Sierra Leone: a 2019 national survey
Background: Within Sub-Saharan Africa, some countries still report unacceptably high rates of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, despite improvements in the utilisation of maternity care services. Postnatal care (PNC) is one of the recommended packages in the continuum of maternity care aimed at reducing maternal and neonatal mortality. This study aimed to determine the […]
Stillbirths and hospital early neonatal deaths at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre-Malawi
Background. Much of the data on still births and early neonatal deaths from resource-limited settings are obtained via maternal recall from national or community level surveys. While this approach results in useful information to be obtained, often such data suffer from significant recall bias and misclassification. In order to determine the prevalence of stillbirths (SB), […]
Male Involvement in Reproductive and Maternal and New Child Health: An Evaluative Qualitative Study on Facilitators and Barriers From Rural Kenya
Male involvement in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) is known to improve maternal and child health outcomes. However, there is sub-optimal adoption of male involvement strategies in several low- and middle-income countries such as Kenya. Aga Khan University implemented Access to Quality of Care through Extending and Strengthening Health Systems (AQCESS), a project […]
