Key bottlenecks to the provision of safe obstetric anaesthesia in low- income countries; a cross-sectional survey of 64 hospitals in Uganda

Background: Despite recent advances in surgery and anaesthesia which significantly improve safety, many health facilities in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) remain chronically under-resourced with inability to cope effectively with serious obstetric complications (Knight et al., PLoS One 8:e63846, 2013). As a result many of these countries still have unacceptably high maternal and neonatal mortality rates. […]

Biomarkers of maternal environmental enteric dysfunction are associated with shorter gestation and reduced length in newborn infants in Uganda

Background Adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth and stunting at birth, have long-term health implications. The relation between adverse birth outcomes and chronic, asymptomatic gastrointestinal inflammation (environmental enteric dysfunction – EED) is poorly understood. Objective We aimed to examine the relation between maternal EED and adverse birth outcomes in a sample of pregnant Ugandan women […]

Reasons for poor blood pressure control in Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa: looking into 4P’s (primary care, professional, patient, and public health policy) for improving blood pressure control: a scoping review

Aim: Hypertension control in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the worst (less than one out of ten) when compared to the rest of the world. Therefore, this scoping review was conducted to identify and describe the possible reasons for poor blood pressure (BP) control based on 4Ps’ (patient, professional, primary healthcare system, and public health policy) […]

Cost of hospital care of women with postpartum haemorrhage in India, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda: a financial case for improved prevention

Objective: Access to quality, effective lifesaving uterotonics in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains a major barrier to reducing maternal deaths from postpartum haemorrhage (PPH). Our objective was to assess the costs of care for women who receive different preventative uterotonics, and with PPH and no-PPH so that the differences, if significant, can inform better […]

Community awareness about risk factors, presentation and prevention and obstetric fistula in Nabitovu village, Iganga district, Uganda

Background: Obstetric fistula is a worldwide problem that is devastating for women in developing countries. The cardinal cause of obstetric fistula is prolonged obstructed labour and delay in seeking emergency obstetric care. Awareness about obstetric fistula is still low in developing countries. The objective was to assess the awareness about risk factors of obstetric fistulae […]

Ancillary benefits of antenatal ultrasound: An association between the introduction of a low-cost ultrasound program and an increase in the numbers of women receiving recommended antenatal treatments

Background: In June of 2010, an antenatal ultrasound program was introduced to perform basic screening examinations at a health care clinic in rural Uganda. The impact of the program on the existing antenatal care infrastructure including the proportion and number of women receiving recommended antenatal care at clinic visits was unknown. The aim of this […]

Maternal CD4+ cell count decline after interruption of antiretroviral prophylaxis for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV

Background: We evaluated maternal CD4+ cell count (CD4+) decline after PMTCT prophylaxis in a multi-country HIV care program. Methods: Analysis was restricted to antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive, HIV-infected pregnant women with CD4+ ≥250 cells/mm3 at enrollment. Single-dose nevirapine (sd-NVP) or short-course antiretroviral prophylaxis (sc-ARVp) with zidovudine (AZT) or AZT + lamivudine (3TC) was initiated in 11 […]

Maternal mental health priorities, help-seeking behaviors, and resources in post-conflict settings: A qualitative study in eastern Uganda

Background: Limited knowledge exists to inform the selection and introduction of locally relevant, feasible, and effective mental health interventions in diverse socio-cultural contexts and health systems. We examined stakeholders’ perspectives on mental health-related priorities, help-seeking behaviors, and existing resources to guide the development of a maternal mental health component for integration into non-specialized care in […]

Strategies for helping families prepare for birth: Experiences from eastern central Uganda

Background: Promotion of birth preparedness and raising awareness of potential complications is one of the main strategies to enhance the timely utilisation of skilled care at birth and overcome barriers to accessing care during emergencies. Objective: This study aimed to investigate factors associated with birth preparedness in three districts of eastern central Uganda. Design: This […]

Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) as potential agents in promoting male involvement in maternity preparedness: Insights from a rural community in Uganda

Background: Since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, male involvement in reproductive health issues has been advocated as a means to improve maternal and child health outcomes, but to date, health providers have failed to achieve successful male involvement in pregnancy care especially in rural and remote areas where majority of the underserved […]