Household food insecurity, coping strategies, and nutritional status of pregnant women in rural areas of Northern Ghana
There is limited information on the magnitude and determinants of household food insecurity (HFI) and how it relates to the nutritional status of pregnant women in Northern Ghana. The magnitude, determinants of HFI, and how it relates to the nutritional status of pregnant women were evaluated in the Africa RISING West Africa project intervention communities […]
Don’t forget eclampsia in the efforts to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality
Hypertensive disorders are a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite advances in prevention and clinical management, women in low-resource countries continue to bear the burden of the sequelae of severe pre-eclampsia–eclampsia. Sustainable strategies to improve the care of women with hypertensive disease, to identify those at risk for hypertensive disease, and to […]
A mobile phone-based multimedia intervention to support maternal health is acceptable and feasible among illiterate pregnant women in Uganda: Qualitative findings from a pilot randomized controlled trial
Background: Uganda’s maternal mortality rate remains unacceptably high. Mobile phones can potentially provide affordable means of accessing maternal health services even among the otherwise hard-to-reach populations. Evidence about the acceptability and feasibility of mobile phone-based interventions targeting illiterate women, however, is limited. Objective: To assess the acceptability and feasibility of a mobile phone-based multimedia application […]
How children access antiretroviral treatment at Kgapane District Hospital, Limpopo, South Africa
Background: At Kgapane Hospital, Limpopo Province, only 20% of eligible children initiated antiretroviral treatment (ART) in 2007. The aim of this study was to improve the ART programme by assessing how children were accessing ART, and to explore the factors that facilitate or obstruct this access. Method: Mixed methods were used in a descriptive study […]
Effects of Maternal Suicidal Ideation on Child Cognitive Development: A Longitudinal Analysis
This study aimed to assess the association between suicidal ideation among mothers living with HIV in Zimbabwe and the cognitive development of their children. Participants were mother–child dyads recruited from two rural districts in Zimbabwe. Data were collected at baseline and 12 months follow-up. Suicidal ideation was assessed using item-10 from the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale. […]
Why Muslim women in Northern Ghana do not use skilled maternal healthcare services at health facilities: A qualitative study Healthcare availability and accessibility
Background: Muslim women are one sub-population in Ghana among whom the rate of skilled maternal health services accessibility and utilisation is very low. However, there are no studies in Ghana that explore the maternity needs and care experiences of Muslim women, and why they do not utilise maternal healthcare services at health facilities. The purpose […]
Examining barriers to healthcare access and utilization of antenatal care services: evidence from demographic health surveys in sub-Saharan Africa
Background: Antenatal care utilization is one of the means for reducing the high maternal mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined the association between barriers to healthcare access and implementation of the 2016 WHO antenatal care services model among pregnant women seeking antenatal care in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: This study considered only […]
The development of children born to young mothers with no, first- or second-generation HIV acquisition in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa: a cross-sectional study
Background The intergenerational effects of HIV require long-term investigation. We compared developmental outcomes of different generations impacted by HIV – children of mothers not living with HIV, the ‘second generation’ (ie, with recently infected mothers) and the ‘third generation’ (ie, children of perinatally infected mothers). Methods A cross-sectional community sample of N=1015 young mothers (12-25 […]
Where and why do we lose women from the continuum of care in maternal health? A mixed-methods study in Southern Benin
Objective: Continuum of care (CoC) in maternal health is built on evidence suggesting that the integration of effective interventions across pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period leads to better perinatal health outcomes. We explored gaps along the CoC in maternal health in Benin. Methods: A mixed-methods study triangulating results from a qualitative study in southern […]
Evaluating the accessibility and utility of HIV-related point-of-care diagnostics for maternal health in rural South Africa: A study protocol
Introduction: Poor healthcare access is a major barrier to receiving antenatal care and a cause of high maternal mortality in South Africa (SA). ‘Point-of-care’ (POC) diagnostics is a powerful emerging healthcare approach to improve healthcare access. This study focuses on evaluating the accessibility and utility of POC diagnostics for maternal health in rural SA primary […]
