Reproducing neglect in the place of care: Normalised violence within Cape Town Midwifery Obstetric Units
Access to quality maternal health care within South Africa is strongly determined by where a woman lives and her socioeconomic positioning. Through an analysis of experiences shared by nurses and midwives working within Midwifery Obstetric Units (MOUs) within Cape Town, this article considers how the South African health system maintains and reproduces gendered inequalities. The […]
Improving maternal care through a state-wide health insurance program: A cost and cost-effectiveness study in rural Nigeria
Background While the Nigerian government has made progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, further investments are needed to achieve the targets of post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, including Universal Health Coverage. Economic evaluations of innovative interventions can help inform investment decisions in resource-constrained settings. We aim to assess the cost and cost-effectiveness of maternal care provided […]
Adverse or acceptable: Negotiating access to a post-apartheid health care contract
Background: As in many fragile and post-conflict countries, South Africa’s social contract has formally changed from authoritarianism to democracy, yet access to services, including health care, remains inequitable and contested. We examine access barriers to quality health services and draw on social contract theory to explore ways in which a post-apartheid health care contract is […]
Food insecurity is a barrier to prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission services in Zimbabwe: A cross-sectional study
Background: Food insecurity (FI) is the lack of physical, social, and economic access to sufficient food for dietary needs and food preferences. We examined the association between FI and women’s uptake of services to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (MTCT) in Zimbabwe. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data collected in 2012 from women living in five of […]
Association between health insurance enrolment and maternal health care service utilization among women in Ethiopia
Background: Health insurance was considered as the third global health transition which can increase access to health care services by eliminating monetary obstacles to maternal health care use, particularly in emerging nations. Hence, this study aimed to assess the association between health insurance enrolment and maternal health care service utilization among women in Ethiopia. Methods: […]
Perceptions of the effects of armed conflict on maternal and reproductive health services and outcomes in Burundi and Northern Uganda: A qualitative study
Background: Armed conflict potentially poses serious challenges to access and quality of maternal and reproductive health (MRH) services, resulting in increased maternal morbidity and mortality. The effects of armed conflict may vary from one setting to another, including the mechanisms/channels through which the conflict may lead to poor access to and quality of health services. […]
Inequities and their determinants in coverage of maternal health services in Burkina Faso
Background: Poor and marginalized segments of society often display the worst health status due to limited access to health enhancing interventions. It follows that in order to enhance the health status of entire populations, inequities in access to health care services need to be addressed as an inherent element of any effort targeting Universal Health […]
Predictors of preconception health knowledge among Canadian women: A nationwide cross-sectional study
Background: Optimising preconception health—that is the health of women and men prior to a potential pregnancy—is increasingly recognised as fundamental to improving maternal and infant health outcomes. To date, limited research has been conducted examining preconception knowledge and studies focusing on preconception health behaviours have targeted certain behaviours, while overlooking others, with limited attention given […]
Ethiopian orthodox fasting and lactating mothers: Longitudinal study on dietary pattern and nutritional status in rural tigray, Ethiopia
About half of Ethiopians belong to the Orthodox Tewahedo religion. Annually, more than 200 days are dedicated to religious fasting, which includes abstaining from all types of food, animal source foods, and water. However, the association of fasting with undernutrition remains unknown in Ethiopia. Therefore, dietary pattern and nutritional status of lactating women during lent […]
The impacts of migration on maternal and child health services utilisation in Sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from Togo
Objectives: Togo is experiencing a growing phenomenon of migration and consequently receives remittances from international migrants back to their relatives. Remittances represent about 9.4% of the gross domestic product (GDP), placing Togo in the top 10 recipients of remittances in the world in 2014. Despite the importance of remittances, information on their health outcomes is […]
