Deliver on your own: Disrespectful maternity care in rural Kenya
Background: Under the Free Maternity Policy (FMP), Kenya has witnessed an increase in health facility deliveries rather than home deliveries with Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) resulting in improved maternal and neonatal outcomes. Despite these gains, maternal and infant mortality and morbidity rates in Kenya remain unacceptably high indicating that more needs to be done. Aim: […]
Community-linked maternal death review (CLMDR) to measure and prevent maternal mortality: A pilot study in rural Malawi
Background: In Malawi, maternal mortality remains high. Existing maternal death reviews fail to adequately review most deaths, or capture those that occur outside the health system. We assessed the value of community involvement to improve capture and response to community maternal deaths. Methods: We designed and piloted a community-linked maternal death review (CLMDR) process in […]
Maternal near miss among women admitted in major private hospitals in eastern Ethiopia: a retrospective study
Background: Since maternal mortality is a rare event, maternal near miss has been used as a proxy indicator for measuring maternal health. Maternal near miss (MNM) refers to a woman who nearly died but survived of complications during pregnancy, childbirth or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy. Although study of MNM in Ethiopia is […]
How has the free obstetric care policy impacted unmet obstetric need in a rural health district in guinea?
Introduction: In 2010, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Guinea introduced a free emergency obstetric care policy in all the public health facilities of the country. This included antenatal checks, normal delivery and Caesarean section. Objective: This study aims at assessing the changes in coverage of obstetric care according to the Unmet Obstetric Need concept […]
Baseline population health conditions ahead of a health system strengthening program in rural Madagascar
Background: A model health district was initiated through a program of health system strengthening (HSS) in Ifanadiana District of southeastern Madagascar in 2014. We report population health indicators prior to initiation of the program. Methods: A representative household survey based on the Demographic Health Survey was conducted using a two-stage cluster sampling design in two […]
Scoping review of maternal and newborn health interventions and programmes in Nigeria
Objective To systematically scope and map research regarding interventions, programmes or strategies to improve maternal and newborn health (MNH) in Nigeria. Design Scoping review. Data sources and eligibility criteria Systematic searches were conducted from 1 June to 22 July 2020 in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, together with a search of the grey literature. Publications presenting interventions […]
Associations between birth kit use and maternal and neonatal health outcomes in rural Jigawa state, Nigeria: A secondary analysis of data from a cluster randomized controlled trial
Background The burden of maternal and neonatal mortality remains persistently high in Nigeria. Sepsis contributes significantly to both maternal and newborn mortality, and safe delivery kits have long been promoted as a cost-effective intervention to ensure hygienic delivery practices and reduce sepsis. However, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of home birth kit distribution […]
Antenatal care and skilled delivery service utilisation in Somali pastoral communities of Eastern Ethiopia
Objective: To assess maternal health care service utilisation and associated factors in Somali pastoral communities of eastern Ethiopia. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study complemented by qualitative assessments in Adadle district, Somali region, eastern Ethiopia, among 450 women in six kebeles from August to September 2016. Logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with antenatal care […]
The prevalence of histologic acute chorioamnionitis among HIV infected pregnant women in Uganda and its association with adverse birth outcomes
Background Preterm birth (PTB) is a leading cause of neonatal mortality and longer-term morbidity. Acute chorioamnionitis (ACA) is a common cause of PTB, however, there are limited data on the prevalence of ACA and its association with PTB in resource limited settings. Methods Data and samples came from a clinical trial evaluating novel strategies for […]
Household wealth and maternal health: evidence from Ghana
Purpose: In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) revised upwards the recommended contacts for antenatal care (ANC) by expectant mothers with a health provider from a minimum of four to eight over the pregnancy period. Although Ghana is yet to adopt the new recommendation, some women choose to adhere to the new protocol because of […]
