Beyond political will: unpacking the drivers of (non) health reforms in sub-Saharan Africa
Background Lack of political will is frequently invoked as a rhetorical tool to explain the gap between commitment and action for health reforms in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the concept remains vague, ill defined and risks being used as a scapegoat to actually examine what shapes reforms in a given context, and what to do […]
Maternal separation affects dopamine transporter function in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat: An in vivo electrochemical study
Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) is a well-characterised model of this disorder and has been shown to exhibit dopamine dysregulation, one of the hypothesised causes of ADHD. Since stress experienced in the early stages of life can have long-lasting […]
Estimating the pattern of causes of death in Papua New Guinea
Background: Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a diverse country with high mortality and evidence of increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), but there is no reliable cause of death (COD) data because civil registration is insufficient and routine health data comprise only a small proportion of deaths. This study aims to estimate cause-specific mortality fractions […]
Are Ghanaian women meeting the WHO recommended maternal healthcare (MCH) utilisation? Evidence from a national survey
Background: To achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target 3.1, the World Health Organisation recommends that all pregnant women receive antenatal care (ANC) from skilled providers, utilise the services of a skilled birth attendant at birth and receive their first postnatal care (PNC) within the first 24 h after birth. In this paper, we examined the […]
Maternal Nutrition Education Provided by Midwives: A Qualitative Study in an Antenatal Clinic, Uganda
Maternal nutrition during pregnancy affects the health of the mother and baby. The objective of this paper is to describe the maternal nutrition education offered by midwives to women attending an antenatal clinic. The study also examined the resources, support, and the needs of the midwives in offering the nutrition education. Six in-depth interviews with […]
Compliance to prenatal iron and folic acid supplement use in relation to low birth weight in lilongwe, Malawi
Prenatal iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements are offered free to all pregnant women in Malawi to reduce maternal anemia and improve birth outcomes. We investigated the association between self-reported compliance to IFA intake and risk of low birth weight (LBW). Pregnant women who attended Bwaila Maternity Wing of Lilongwe District Hospital for delivery were […]
Postpartum obesity and weight gain among human immunodeficiency virus-infected and human immunodeficiency virus-uninfected women in South Africa
In South Africa, up to 40% of pregnant women are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and 30–45% are obese. However, little is known about the dual burden of HIV and obesity in the postpartum period. In a cohort of HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected pregnant women initiating antiretroviral therapy in Cape Town, South Africa, we examined […]
Perinatal distress and depression in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) australian women: The role of psychosocial and obstetric factors
Perinatal distress and depression can have significant impacts on both the mother and baby. The present study investigated psychosocial and obstetric factors associated with perinatal distress and depressive symptoms among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) Australian women in Sydney, New South Wales. The study used retrospectively linked maternal and child health data from two Local […]
Food insecurity and its predictors among lactating mothers in North Shoa Zone, Central Ethiopia: A community based cross-sectional study
Objective To assess the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) and its predictors among lactating mothers in Ataye District, North Shoa Zone, Central Ethiopia. Design A community-based cross-sectional study design was used. Setting Two urban and four rural randomly selected kebeles of the Ataye District in Ethiopia. Participants Out of 635 participants, 612 lactating mothers aged […]
Prenatal exposure to cadmium, placental permeability and birth outcomes in coastal populations of South Africa
Background: The impact of prenatal exposure to cadmium (Cd) on birth outcomes is an area of concern. This study aimed to assess an impact of prenatal Cd exposure on birth outcomes in distinct coastal populations of South Africa. Methods: Cadmium was measured in maternal blood (CdB) (n = 641), cord blood and in maternal urine […]
