Reflections on Digital Maternal and Child Health Support for Mothers and Community Health Workers in Rural Areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa

Introduction: Digital health support using mobile and digital technologies, such as MomConnect and WhatsApp, is providing opportunities to improve maternal and child healthcare in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, the perspective of health service providers, pregnant women, and mothers as recipients of digital health support is under-researched in rural areas. Material and Methods: An exploratory-descriptive […]

Sustainable thresholds, health outcomes, health expenditures and education nexus in selected African countries: quadratic and moderation modelling

Background: This study aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 3 which borders on “good health and well-being for people by ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages”. It contributes to the health literature by evaluating the roles of health expenditures and educational quality on three health outcomes (infant mortality, maternal mortality and […]

“They must understand we are people”: Pregnancy and maternity service use among signing Deaf women in Cape Town

Background Women with disabilities are at disproportionate risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, however, there is limited information on their pregnancy histories. This mixed-methods study focuses on signing Deaf women whose access to health care may be compromised by language barriers related to their disability. Objective To describe and compare the pregnancy outcomes and maternity service […]

Loss of detectability and indeterminate results: Challenges facing HIV infant diagnosis in South Africa’s expanding ART programme

Background. Early infant diagnosis with rapid access to treatment has been found to reduce HIV-associated infant mortality and morbidity considerably. In line with international standards, current South African guidelines advocate routine HIV-1 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing at 6 weeks of age for all HIV-exposed infants and ‘fast-track’ entry into the HIV treatment programme for […]

Correlates of children’s travel to school in Johannesburg-Soweto—Evidence from the Birth to Twenty Plus (Bt20+) study, South Africa

Prior work on data obtained from the urban Johannesburg-Soweto based Birth to Twenty Plus (Bt20+) cohort has documented extensive levels of travel to school in the early post-apartheid era (1997–2003), with fewer than 20% of children attending the age-appropriate school closest to their home (de Kadt et al., 2014). These extremely high levels of schooling […]

Disparities in pregnancy-related deaths: Spatial and Bayesian network analyses of maternal mortality ratio in 54 African countries

Background Maternal mortality remains a public health problem despite several global efforts. Globally, about 830 women die of pregnancy-related death per day, with more than two-third of these cases occurring in Africa. We examined the spatial distribution of maternal mortality in Africa and explored the influence of SDoH on the spatial distribution. Methods We used […]

Characteristics associated with the transition to partial breastfeeding prior to 6 months of age: Data from seven sites in a birth cohort study

The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life. However, the transition of the infants’ diet to partial breastfeeding with the addition of animal milks and/or solids typically occurs earlier than this. Here, we explored factors associated with the timing of an early transition to partial breastfeeding across seven sites of a […]

Poor Obstetric and Infant Outcomes in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Pregnant Women with Tuberculosis in South Africa: The Tshepiso Study

Background. Before the wide availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), tuberculosis and human immunodefciency virus (HIV) disease among pregnant women resulted in poor maternal and neonatal outcomes, including high rates of mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and tuberculosis. We aimed to describe the impact of tuberculosis among HIV-infected mothers on obstetric and infant outcomes in a […]

The HI HOPES data set of deaf children under the age of 6 in South Africa: Maternal suspicion, age of identification and newborn hearing screening

Background: Identification of deafness before 3 months of age substantially improves the socio-linguistic and cognitive development of deaf children. Existing studies demonstrating the feasibility of newborn hearing screening in South Africa have used small samples unrepresentative of general population characteristics. This study establishes the characteristics of the largest data set of deaf infants and their […]

Maternal health and birth outcomes in a South African birth cohort study

Background Maternal physical and mental health during pregnancy are key determinants of birth outcomes. There are relatively few prospective data that integrate physical and mental maternal health measures with birth outcomes in low- and middle-income country settings. We aimed to investigate maternal health during pregnancy and the impact on birth outcomes in an African birth […]