A novel intervention combining supplementary food and infection control measures to improve birth outcomes in undernourished pregnant women in Sierra Leone: A randomized, controlled clinical effectiveness trial
Background Innovations for undernourished pregnant women that improve : newborn survival and anthropometry are needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 3. This study tested the hypothesis that a combination of a nutritious supplementary food and several proven chemotherapeutic interventions to control common infections would increase newborn weight and length in undernourished pregnant […]
Drivers of food consumption among overweight mother-child dyads in Malawi
To address the increase in overweight and obesity among mothers and children in sub- Saharan Africa, an understanding of the factors that drive their food consumption is needed. We hypothesized food consumption in Malawi is driven by a combination of factors, including season, food accessibility (area of residence, convenience of purchasing food, female autonomy), food […]
National and regional estimates of term and preterm babies born small for gestational age in 138 low-income and middle-income countries in 2010
Background: National estimates for the numbers of babies born small for gestational age and the comorbidity with preterm birth are unavailable. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of term and preterm babies born small for gestational age (term-SGA and preterm-SGA), and the relation to low birthweight (
The burden of antenatal heart disease in South Africa: A systematic review
Background: Maternal mortality in South Africa is rising, and heart conditions currently account for 41 per cent of indirect causes of deaths. Little is known about the burden of heart disease in pregnant South Africans.Methods: We systematically reviewed the contemporary epidemiology and peripartum outcomes of heart disease in South African women attending antenatal care. Searches […]
National data system on near miss and maternal death: Shifting from maternal risk to public health impact in Nigeria
Abstract. Background. The lack of reliable and up-to-date statistics on maternal deaths and disabilities remains a major challenge to the implementation of Nigeria’s Road Map to Accelerate the Millennium Development Goal related to Maternal Health (MDG-5). There are currently no functioning national data sources on maternal deaths and disabilities that could serve as reference points […]
Linking data sources for measurement of effective coverage in maternal and newborn health: What do we learn from individual- vs ecological-linking methods?
Background Improving maternal and newborn health requires improvements in the quality of facility-based care. This is challenging to measure: routine data may be unreliable; respondents in population surveys may be unable to accurately report on quality indicators; and facility assessments lack population level denominators. We explored methods for linking access to skilled birth attendance (SBA) […]
Social vulnerability, parity and food insecurity in urban South African young women: the healthy life trajectories initiative (HeLTI) study
Social vulnerability indices (SVI) can predict communities’ vulnerability and resilience to public health threats such as drought, food insecurity or infectious diseases. Parity has yet to be investigated as an indicator of social vulnerability in young women. We adapted an SVI score, previously used by the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC), and calculated SVI […]
Philani Plus (+): A Mentor Mother Community Health Worker Home Visiting Program to Improve Maternal and Infants’ Outcomes
Pregnant mothers in South African townships face multiple health risks for themselves and their babies. Existing clinic-based services face barriers to access, utilization, and human resource capacities. Home visiting by community health workers (CHW) can mitigate such barriers. The Philani Plus (+) Intervention Program builds upon the original Philani CHW home-visiting intervention program for maternal […]
Effectiveness of a large-scale, sustained and comprehensive community health worker program in improving population health: the experience of an urban health district in South Africa
Introduction: South Africa is an upper middle-income country with wide wealth inequality. It faces a quadruple burden of disease and poor health outcomes, with access to appropriate and adequate health care a challenge for millions of South Africans. The introduction of large-scale, comprehensive community health worker (CHW) programs in the country, within the context of […]
Improving survival rates of newborn infants in South Africa
Background: The number, rates and causes of early neonatal deaths in South Africa were not known. Neither had modifiable factors associated with these deaths been previously documented. An audit of live born infants who died in the first week of life in the public service could help in planning strategies to reduce the early neonatal […]
