Early neonatal mortality in twin pregnancy: Findings from 60 low- and middle-income countries
Background Around the world, the incidence of multiple pregnancies reaches its peak in the Central African countries and often represents an increased risk of death for women and children because of higher rates of obstetrical complications and poor management skills in those countries. We sought to assess the association between twins and early neonatal mortality […]
Burden and factors associated with clinical neonatal sepsis in urban Uganda: A community cohort study
Background: Neonatal sepsis is one of the most important causes of mortality in developing countries and yet the most preventable. In developing countries clinical algorithms are used to diagnose clinical neonatal sepsis because of inadequate microbiological services. Most information on incidence and risk factors of neonatal sepsis are from hospital studies which may not be […]
Do Predictors of Health Facility Delivery Among Reproductive-Age Women Differ by Health Insurance Enrollment? A Multi-Level Analysis of Nigeria’s Data
This study aims to compare determinants of health facility delivery for women under a health insurance scheme and those not under a health insurance scheme. Secondary data drawn from the National Demographic and Health Survey was used for the analysis. The characteristics of the women were presented with simple proportions. Binary multilevel logistic regression was […]
The last one heard: The importance of an early-stage participatory evaluation for programme implementation
Background: The systematic involvement of project beneficiaries in community maternal and child health programmes remains low and limited, especially during the formative stages of the project cycle. Understanding how positive and negative feedbacks obtained from communities can subsequently be used to inform and iterate existing programmes is an important step towards ensuring the success of […]
Trend change in delayed first antenatal care visit among reproductive-aged women in Ethiopia: multivariate decomposition analysis
Background: Early first antenatal care visit is a critical health care service for the well-being of women and newborn babies. However, many women in Ethiopia still start their first antenatal care visit late. We aimed to examine the trend in delayed first antenatal care visit and identify the contributing factors for the trend change in […]
Minimum dietary diversity and associated factors among children under the age of five attending public health facilities in Wolaita Soddo town, Southern Ethiopia, 2021: a cross-sectional study
Background: Poor quality diets are the greatest obstacles to survival, growth, development, and learning in children. Dietary diversity is a major problem in developing countries including Ethiopia. For better feeding practices and focused interventions, it is essential to identify dietary diversity in children. In order to draw firm conclusions, previous studies in Ethiopia were unable […]
Trends in and socio-demographic factors associated with caesarean section at a Tanzanian referral hospital, 2000 to 2013
Background: Caesarean section (CS) can prevent maternal or fetal complications. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest CS levels in the world but large variations are seen between and within countries. The tertiary hospital, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Tanzania has had a high level of CS over years. The aim of this study was to […]
Utilization of focused antenatal care among expectant women in Murang’a county, Kenya
Focused Antenatal Care (FANC) is crucial to improving maternal and infant health. Despite the Government of Kenya’ efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal morbidities and mortalities, these conditions prevail in Murunga. The current study examined how individual, organizational, and policy factors influence the utilization of focused antenatal care services amongst women in the Gatanga sub-county, […]
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Young Children Born to HIV-Infected Mothers: A Pilot Study
Introduction: Over 15 million children who were exposed to HIV perinatally but uninfected (HEU) are alive globally, and they are faced with multiple risk factors for poor neurodevelopment. While children who are HIV-infected (HIV+) appear to have worse neurodevelopmental scores compared to children unexposed and uninfected with HIV (HUU), the evidence is mixed in children […]
Dietary diversity, nutritional status and associated factors among lactating mothers visiting government health facilities at Dessie town, Amhara region, Ethiopia
Background Maternal undernutrition is one of the most common causes of maternal morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Severe undernutrition among mothers leads to reduced lactation performance which further contributes to an increased risk of infant mortality. However, data regarding nutritional status of lactating mothers at Dessie town and its surrounding areas is lacking. This […]