Decomposing the rural-urban gap in factors associated with childhood immunisation in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from surveys in 23 countries
Background About 31 million children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) suffer from immunisation preventable diseases yearly and more than half a million children die because of lack of access to immunisation. Immunisation coverage has stagnated at 72% in SSA over the past 6 years. Due to evidence that full immunisation of children may be determined by […]
Prevalence and predictors of mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact at birth in Papua New Guinea
Objective This study examined the prevalence and predictors of maternal and newborn skin-to-skin contact at birth in Papua New Guinea. Design Data for the study was extracted from the 2016-18 Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey. We included 6,044 women with birth history before the survey in the analysis. Percentages were used to summarise […]
Evaluating the impact of the community-based health planning and services initiative on uptake of skilled birth care in Ghana
Background: The Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) initiative is a major government policy to improve maternal and child health and accelerate progress in the reduction of maternal mortality in Ghana. However, strategic intelligence on the impact of the initiative is lacking, given the persistant problems of patchy geographical access to care for rural women. […]
Barriers and enablers for iron folic acid (IFA) supplementation in pregnant women
In order to inform large scale supplementation programme design, we review and summarize the barriers and enablers for improved coverage and utilization of iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements by pregnant women in 7 countries in Africa and Asia. Mixed methods were used to analyse IFA supplementation programmes in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, […]
Maternal HIV infection associated with small-for-gestational age infants but not preterm births: Evidence from rural South Africa
Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is prevalent in many countries where small-for-gestational age (SGA) and premature delivery are also common. However, the associations between maternal HIV, preterm delivery and SGA infants remain unclear. We estimate the prevalence of SGA and preterm (
Impact of the saving mothers, giving life approach on decreasing maternal and perinatal deaths in Uganda and Zambia
Background: Maternal and perinatal mortality is a global development priority that continues to present major challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. Saving Mothers, Giving Life (SMGL) was a multipartner initiative implemented from 2012 to 2017 with the goal of improving maternal and perinatal health in high-mortality settings. The initiative accomplished this by reducing delays to timely and […]
Experiences of and responses to disrespectful maternity care and abuse during childbirth; a qualitative study with women and men in Morogoro Region, Tanzania
Background: Interventions to reduce maternal mortality have focused on delivery in facilities, yet in many low-resource settings rates of facility-based birth have remained persistently low. In Tanzania, rates of facility delivery have remained static for more than 20 years. With an aim to advance research and inform policy changes, this paper builds on a growing body […]
Determinants of postnatal care utilization in sub-Saharan Africa: a meta and multilevel analysis of data from 36 sub-Saharan countries
Introduction: Globally, over 65% of maternal deaths occur during the first 42 days of postpartum while the same proportion of neonatal deaths occur during the first 7 days of life. In sab- Saharan Africa, 4.7 million mothers, newborns, and children die on annual basis. As to our knowledge, there is no study on postnatal care […]
A Cross-Cultural Analysis of the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Antenatal Healthcare-Seeking Behaviors in Ghana and the United States
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic impacted healthcare systems worldwide. In this study, we conducted qualitative interviews with pregnant women in Ghana and the United States (US) to understand their antenatal care (ANC) experience. Adapting to the virtual nature of the pandemic, social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp were used to recruit, consent, enroll, and interview women. […]
Community health workers’ knowledge and practice in relation to pre-eclampsia in Ogun State, Nigeria: an essential bridge to maternal survival
Background: Pre-eclampsia is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Early detection and treatment have been instrumental in reducing case fatality in high-income countries. To achieve this in a low-income country, like Nigeria, community health workers who man primary health centres must have adequate knowledge and skills to identify and provide […]
