Does healthcare voucher provision improve utilisation in the continuum of maternal care for poor pregnant women? Experience from Bangladesh
Background: Improving maternal health is a major development goal, with ambitious targets set for high-mortality countries like Bangladesh. Following a steep decline in the maternal mortality ratio over the past decade in Bangladesh, progress has plateaued at 196/100,000 live births. A voucher scheme was initiated in 2007 to reduce financial, geographical and institutional barriers to […]
Examining barriers to healthcare access and utilization of antenatal care services: evidence from demographic health surveys in sub-Saharan Africa
Background: Antenatal care utilization is one of the means for reducing the high maternal mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined the association between barriers to healthcare access and implementation of the 2016 WHO antenatal care services model among pregnant women seeking antenatal care in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: This study considered only […]
Evolution of assisted deliveries at primary healthcare centres in an unstable security context in Mali
Introduction In Mali, healthcare systems are severely affected by conflict. However, several studies suggest a lack of knowledge about its impact on maternal healthcare. Frequent and repeated attacks increase insecurity, limit access to maternal care, and thus represent a barrier to accessing care. The objective of this study is to understand how assisted deliveries are […]
Women’s experiences in accessing maternal and child health services during the period of the armed conflict in the north of mali
Background: During the year 2012 armed conflict in the northern regions of Mali, health care services were no longer able to run in the normal way and women’s access to health services became a critical issue in those regions. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the women’s experiences in accessing maternal and […]
Integrating Mental Health into Maternal Health Care in Rural Mali: A Qualitative Study
Introduction: Common perinatal mental disorders are prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. The gap between the need for and availability of mental health services, also known as the mental health treatment gap, is particularly acute for women during the perinatal period in rural Mali. This qualitative study aimed to identify a feasible and acceptable integrated […]
The delegation of tasks in the era of e-health to support community interventions in maternal and child health: Lessons learned from the PACT-Denbaya project
The PACT-Denbaya project (Program for community access to telemedicine for families) aimed to help improve the health of mothers and child in rural communities through the delegation of obstetric-gynecologic and pediatric tasks, supported by teleconsultations. This operational research took place in 6 community health centers in the Dioïla health district in Mali. Our method was […]
Quality of antenatal care predicts retention in skilled birth attendance: A multilevel analysis of 28 African countries
Background: An effective continuum of maternal care ensures that mothers receive essential health packages from pre-pregnancy to delivery, and postnatally, reducing the risk of maternal death. However, across Africa, coverage of skilled birth attendance is lower than coverage for antenatal care, indicating mothers are not retained in the continuum between antenatal care and delivery. This […]
Exercise normalizes altered expression of proteins in the ventral hippocampus of rats subjected to maternal separation
Many studies have reported on the detrimental effects of early life adversity and the beneficial effects of exercise on brain function. However, the molecular mechanisms that underpin these various effects remain poorly understood. The advent of advanced proteomic analysis techniques has enabled simultaneous measurement of protein expression in a wide range of biological systems. We […]
Maternal and neonatal outcomes of grand multiparas over two decades in Mali
Objective. To analyze the association between grand multiparity and maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Design. Retrospective cross-sectional study. Setting. Point G National Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Bamako, Mali. Population. All singleton births from 1985 to 2003. Methods. Cross-sectional study of 13 340 singleton births at a tertiary care hospital in Mali (1985-2003) […]
Obstetric care in Mali: Effect of organization on in-hospital maternal mortality
Background: Maternal mortality is still too high in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in referral hospitals. Solutions exist but their implementation is a great issue in the poor-resources settings. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of the organization of obstetric care services on maternal mortality in referral hospitals in Mali. Methods: This is […]
