Factors associated with low birthweight among newborns delivered at public health facilities of Nekemte town, West Ethiopia: A case control study
Background: Low birthweight (LBW) remains the most important risk factor which attributed to mortality of 15-20% of newborns across the globe. An infant with low birthweight is more likely to have stunting in childhood and develop markers of metabolic risk factors at his later age. Furthermore, LBW is a risk for inter-generational assaults of malnutrition […]
What the percentage of births in facilities does not measure: Readiness for emergency obstetric care and referral in Senegal
Introduction Increases in facility deliveries in sub-Saharan Africa have not yielded expected declines in maternal mortality, raising concerns about the quality of care provided in facilities. The readiness of facilities at different health system levels to provide both emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) as well as referral is unknown. We describe this combined readiness […]
Determinants of Nutritional Status in School-Aged Children in Mecha, Northwest Ethiopia
Background: Globally, about 50 million children younger than age 5 years experience wasting; of these 16 million (2.4%) are severely wasted. In Ethiopia, about 9% of the children are severely underweight, 10% are wasted, and 3% are severely wasted. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the risk factors that could lead to […]
Patient and provider perspectives on how trust influences maternal vaccine acceptance among pregnant women in Kenya
Background: Pregnant women and newborns are at high risk for infectious diseases. Altered immunity status during pregnancy and challenges fully vaccinating newborns contribute to this medical reality. Maternal immunization is a strategy to protect pregnant women and their newborns. This study aimed to find out how patient-provider relationships affect maternal vaccine uptake, particularly in the […]
Effects of social health insurance on access and utilization of obstetric health services: Results from HIV+ pregnant women in Kenya
Background: Reducing maternal morbidity and mortality remains a top global health agenda especially in high HIV/AIDS endemic locations where there is increased likelihood of mother to child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. Social health insurance (SHI) has emerged as a viable option to improve population access to health services, while improving outcomes for disenfranchised populations, particularly […]
Women’s views and experiences of accessing pertussis vaccination in pregnancy and infant vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-methods study in the UK
Background: COVID-19 changed access to healthcare, including vaccinations, in the United Kingdom (UK). This study explored UK women’s experiences of accessing pertussis vaccination during pregnancy and infant vaccinations during COVID-19. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was completed, between 3rd August-11th October 2020, by 1404 women aged 16+ years who were pregnant at some point after […]
Antenatal care providers’ attitudes and beliefs towards maternal vaccination in Kenya
Background: Maternal immunization is known to be one of the best strategies to protect both mothers and their infants from infectious diseases. Studies have shown that healthcare providers play a critical role in implementation of maternal immunization. However, little is known about providers’ attitudes and beliefs towards vaccination that can influence their vaccine recommendations, specifically […]
Provision and use of maternal health services among urban poor women in Kenya: What do we know and what can we do?
In sub-Saharan Africa, the unprecedented population growth that started in the second half of the twentieth century has evolved into unparalleled urbanization and an increasing proportion of urban dwellers living in slums and shanty towns, making it imperative to pay greater attention to the health problems of the urban poor. In particular, urgent efforts need […]
The effect of maternal depressive symptoms on infant feeding practices in rural Ethiopia: community based birth cohort study
Background: Maternal depression and other psychosocial factors have been shown to have adverse consequences on infant feeding practices. This study explored the longitudinal relationship of maternal depressive symptoms and other selected psychosocial factors with infant feeding practices (IFPs) in rural Ethiopia using summary IFP index. Methods: This study uses existing data from the ENGINE birth […]
Health and nutrition knowledge, attitudes and practices of pregnant women attending and not-attending ANC clinics in Western Kenya: A cross-sectional analysis
Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is a key strategy to decreasing maternal mortality in low-resource settings. ANC clinics provide resources to improve nutrition and health knowledge and promote preventive health practices. We sought to compare the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) among women seeking and not-seeking ANC in rural Kenya.Methods: Data from a community-based cross-sectional survey […]
