Facilitators and barriers to the implementation of a Mobile Health Wallet for pregnancy-related health care: A qualitative study of stakeholders’ perceptions in Madagascar

Financial barriers are a major obstacle to accessing maternal health care services in low-resource settings. In Madagascar, less than half of live births are attended by skilled health staff. Although mobile money-based savings and payment systems are often used to pay for a variety of services, including health care, data on the implications of a […]

Perceived differences on the role of traditional birth attendants in rural Tanzania: a qualitative study

Background: In many low to middle income countries, traditional birth attendants (TBAs) play various roles (e.g., provision of health education, referral to hospitals, and delivery support) that can potentially improve women’s access to healthcare. In Tanzania, however, the formal healthcare systems have not acknowleded the role of the TBAs. TBAs’ contributions are limited and are not […]

Child mobility, maternal status, and household composition in rural South Africa

This article examines the influence of maternal status, socioeconomic status of the household, and household composition on the mobility of children aged 0-14 in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, from 1999 to 2008. Using data from the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System, we found that children whose mothers were temporary migrants, living elsewhere, or dead […]

Prenatal fortified balanced energy-Protein supplementation and birth outcomes in rural Burkina Faso: A randomized controlled efficacy trial

Background APUrov: iPdilnegasbecaolannficremdtheantaelrlgheya-dpirnogtleeivnel(sBaErePr)epsruepspenletemdeconrtrseicstlay:promising intervention to improve birth outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); however, evidence is limited. We aimed to assess the efficacy of fortified BEP supplementation during pregnancy to improve birth outcomes, as compared to iron-folic acid (IFA) tablets, the standard of care. Methods and findings We conducted an individually randomized controlled efficacy […]

Nutrition Outcomes of Under-five Children of Smallholder Farm Households: Do Higher Commercialization Levels Lead to Better Nutritional Status?

The study investigated the nutritional status of under-five children of farm households. The study utilized primary data from 352 farm households with 140 under-five children. Household crop commercialization index (CCI) was used to estimate cassava farm household crop sale ratio and categorize the households into four commercialization levels while WHO Anthro software was employed to […]

Female education and maternal health care utilization: evidence from Uganda

Background: Maternal health care is among the key indicators of population health and economic development. Therefore, the study attempted to explore female education and maternal healthcare utilization in Uganda. The study identified the causal effect of introduction of free education by exploiting the age as an instrument at the second stage model (BMC Health Serv […]

I should have started earlier, but I was not feeling ill! Perceptions of Kalenjin women on antenatal care and its implications on initial access and differentials in patterns of antenatal care utilization in rural Uasin Gishu County Kenya

Aim The aim of this study was to explore how Kalenjin women in rural Uasing Gishu County in Kenya perceive antenatal care and how their perceptions impede or motivate earlier access and continuous use of antenatal care services. Methods A study was conducted among 188 pregnant and post-natal mothers seeking care in 23 rural public […]

Associations of childhood, maternal and household dietary patterns with childhood stunting in Ethiopia: Proposing an alternative and plausible dietary analysis method to dietary diversity scores

Background: Identifying dietary patterns that consider the overall eating habits, rather than focusing on individual foods or simple counts of consumed foods, better helps to understand the combined effects of dietary components. Therefore, this study aimed to use dietary patterns, as an alternative method to dietary diversity scores (DDSs), and investigate their associations with childhood […]

Nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive factors associated with mid-upper arm circumference as a measure of nutritional status in pregnant Ethiopian women: Implications for programming in the first 1000 days

Poor nutritional status in pregnancy expressed as low mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) is associated with low birth weight. The study aims were to assess the nutritional status of pregnant Ethiopian women using MUAC and examine association with nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive factors, using baseline data of a prospective longitudinal observational birth cohort study conducted in three […]

Unintended pregnancy, contraceptive use, and childbearing desires among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women in Botswana: Across-sectional study

Background: Little is known about the impact of knowledge of HIV serostatus on pregnancy intention and contraceptive use in high-HIV-burden southern African settings in the era of widespread antiretroviral treatment availability. Methods: We analyzed interview data collected among 473 HIV-uninfected and 468 HIV-infected pregnant and recently postpartum women at two sites in southern Botswana. Participants […]