Prevalence and factors associated with complementary feeding practices among children aged 6-23 months in India: A regional analysis
Background: Inappropriate complementary feeding practices significantly contribute to undernutrition among children under 2 years of age in India. However, there is limited up-to-date evidence on the prevalence and factors associated with complementary feeding practices to guide policy actions at the subnational level in India. We investigated the regional prevalence and factors associated with complementary feeding […]
Reducing stillbirths in Ethiopia: Results of an intervention programme
Previous studies from South Ethiopia have shown that interventions that focus on intrapartum care substantially reduce maternal mortality and there is a need to operationalize health packages that could reduce stillbirths. The aim of this paper is to evaluate if a programme that aimed to improve maternal health, and mainly focusing on strengthening intrapartum care, […]
Decomposition analysis of the compositional and contextual factors associated with poor-non-poor inequality in diarrhoea among under-five children in low- and middle-income countries
Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the magnitude of wealth inequalities in the development of diarrhoea among under-five children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to identify and quantify contextual and compositional factors’ contribution to the inequalities. Design: This is a cross-sectional study. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 57 Demographic […]
Culturally adapted psychological intervention for treating maternal depression in British mothers of African and Caribbean origin: A randomized controlled feasibility trial
Background: Women are likely to suffer from maternal depression due to childbirth difficulties and parenting responsibilities, leading to long-term negative consequences on their children and families. British mothers of African/Caribbean origin uptake of mental healthcare is low due to the lack of access to culturally appropriate care. Methods: A mixed-methods randomized controlled feasibility trial was […]
Maternal health challenges experienced by adolescents; could community score cards address them? A case study of Kibuku District– Uganda
Introduction: Approximately 34.8% of the Ugandan population is adolescents. The national teenage pregnancy rate is 25% and in Kibuku district, 17.6% of adolescents aged 12–19 years have begun child bearing. Adolescents mothers are vulnerable to many maternal health challenges including; stigma, unfriendly services and early marriages. The community score card (CSC) is a social accountability […]
Maternal health care service seeking behaviors and associated factors among women in rural Haramaya District, Eastern Ethiopia: a triangulated community-based cross-sectional study
Background: Regular utilization of maternal health care services reduces maternal morbidity and mortality. This study assessed the maternal health care seeking behavior and associated factors of reproductive age women in rural villages of Haramaya district, East Ethiopia. Methods: Community based cross sectional study supplemented with qualitative data was conducted in Haramaya district from November 15 […]
Assessing coverage, equity and quality gaps in maternal and neonatal care in sub-Saharan Africa: An integrated approach
Background: Gaps in coverage, equity and quality of health services hinder the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 in most countries of sub-Saharan Africa as well as in other high-burden countries, yet few studies attempt to assess all these dimensions as part of the situation analysis. We present the base-line data of […]
Maternal mortality in rural south ethiopia: Outcomes of community-based birth registration by health extension workers
Introduction Rural communities in low-income countries lack vital registrations to track birth outcomes. We aimed to examine the feasibility of community-based birth registration and measure maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in rural south Ethiopia. Methods In 2010, health extension workers (HEWs) registered births and maternal deaths among 421,639 people in three districts (Derashe, Bonke, and Arba […]
The influence of maternal health education on the place of delivery in conflict settings of Darfur, Sudan
Background: Armed conflict and socio-demographic characteristics of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are very important factors that influence the provision of reproductive health (RH) in humanitarian settings. Maternal health education plays a crucial role to overcome the barriers of RH care, reduce home births conducted by traditional birth attendants (TBAs), and improve increasing births in a […]
Experiences engaging community health workers to provide maternal and newborn health services: Implementation of four programs
A paucity of skilled health providers is a considerable impediment to reducing maternal, infant, and under-five mortality for many low-resource countries. Although evidence supports the effectiveness of community health workers (CHWs) in delivering primary healthcare services, shifting tasks to this cadre from providers with advanced training has been pursued with overall caution – both because […]
