Community based screening for sickle haemoglobin among pregnant women in Benue State, Nigeria: I-Care-to-Know, a Healthy Beginning Initiative
Background: Haemoglobin genotype screening at prenatal care offers women an opportunity to be aware of their genotype, receive education on sickle cell disease (SCD) and may increase maternal demand for SCD newborn screening. In developed countries, most pregnant women who access prenatal care and deliver at the hospital receive haemoglobin genotype screening. In settings with […]
Undernutrition and its associated factors among pregnant women at the public hospitals of Bench-Sheko and Kaffa zone, southwest Ethiopia
Background: Undernutrition in pregnant women, expressed as low mid-upper arm circumference, is responsible for maternal mortality and morbidity, adverse birth outcomes, subsequent childhood malnutrition, and mortality. As a result, the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of maternal undernutrition and associated factors during pregnancy in public hospitals in the Bench-Sheko and Kaffa […]
Prevalence and determinants of intimate partner violence against mothers of children under-five years in Central Malawi
Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a global human rights violation and a public health problem. The phenomenon is linked to adverse health effects for women and children. Mothers of young children in Malawi can be particularly at risk because of gender-based power imbalances. The objectives of this study were to examine the […]
Severe stunting and its associated factors among children aged 6–59 months in Ethiopia; multilevel ordinal logistic regression model
Background: In Ethiopia, stunting is the most common form of undernutriton. Identifying the determinants of severe stunting among children is crucial for public health interventions to improve child health. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the determinants of severe stunting among under-five children in Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study design was employed. A two […]
Pills and prayers: a comparative qualitative study of community conceptualisations of pre-eclampsia and pluralistic care in Ethiopia, Haiti and Zimbabwe
Background: Pre-eclampsia is a leading cause of preventable maternal and perinatal deaths globally. While health inequities remain stark, removing financial or structural barriers to care does not necessarily improve uptake of life-saving treatment. Building on existing literature elaborating the sociocultural contexts that shape behaviours around pregnancy and childbirth can identify nuanced influences relating to pre-eclampsia […]
Prenatal supplementation with multiple micronutrient supplements or medium-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements has limited effects on child growth up to 24 months in rural Niger: A secondary analysis of a cluster randomized trial
Background: Prenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) and lipid-based nutrient supplementation (LNS) can improve birth outcomes relative to iron-folic acid supplementation (IFA); however, effects on child postnatal growth remain unclear. Objectives: The aim was to compare the effect of prenatal MMS, medium-quantity LNS (MQ-LNS), and IFA on child growth up to 2 y of age. Methods: […]
Does anthropometric status at 6 months predict the over-dispersion of malaria infections in children aged 6-18 months? A prospective cohort study
Background: In malaria-endemic settings, a small proportion of children suffer repeated malaria infections, contributing to most of the malaria cases, yet underlying factors are not fully understood. This study was aimed to determine whether undernutrition predicts this over-dispersion of malaria infections in children aged 6-18 months in settings of high malaria and undernutrition prevalence. Methods: […]
Multiple micronutrient supplementation in Tanzanian infants born to HIV-infected mothers: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial
Background: Multiple micronutrients (vitamin B complex and vitamins C and E) were effective at reducing infectious disease morbidity, HIV disease progression, and poor pregnancy outcomes in HIV-infected women. Objective: The objective was to evaluate whether direct supplementation of these micronutrients to HIV-exposed infants reduces mortality and morbidity. Design: Infants born to HIV-infected women from Dar […]
Effects of a community health worker delivered intervention on maternal depressive symptoms in rural Tanzania
Maternal depression affects one in four women in sub-Saharan Africa, yet evidence on effective and scalable interventions is limited. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of a community health worker (CHW) delivered home visit responsive stimulation, health and nutrition intervention, and conditional cash transfers (CCTs) for antenatal care and child growth monitoring attendance on […]
Effect of 12-month intervention with lipid-based nutrient supplement on the physical activity of Malawian toddlers: A randomised, controlled trial
Physical activity is beneficial for children’s well-being. The effect of dietary supplementation on children’s physical activity in food-insecure areas remains little studied. We examined the effects of a lipid-based nutrient supplement (LNS) on children’s objectively measured physical activity in a randomised, controlled, outcome-assessor-blinded trial. Mothers of the children received one capsule daily of Fe-folic acid […]
