Decomposing the rural-urban gap in factors associated with childhood immunisation in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from surveys in 23 countries
Background About 31 million children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) suffer from immunisation preventable diseases yearly and more than half a million children die because of lack of access to immunisation. Immunisation coverage has stagnated at 72% in SSA over the past 6 years. Due to evidence that full immunisation of children may be determined by […]
Prevalence and predictors of mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact at birth in Papua New Guinea
Objective This study examined the prevalence and predictors of maternal and newborn skin-to-skin contact at birth in Papua New Guinea. Design Data for the study was extracted from the 2016-18 Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey. We included 6,044 women with birth history before the survey in the analysis. Percentages were used to summarise […]
Evaluating the impact of the community-based health planning and services initiative on uptake of skilled birth care in Ghana
Background: The Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) initiative is a major government policy to improve maternal and child health and accelerate progress in the reduction of maternal mortality in Ghana. However, strategic intelligence on the impact of the initiative is lacking, given the persistant problems of patchy geographical access to care for rural women. […]
Barriers and enablers for iron folic acid (IFA) supplementation in pregnant women
In order to inform large scale supplementation programme design, we review and summarize the barriers and enablers for improved coverage and utilization of iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements by pregnant women in 7 countries in Africa and Asia. Mixed methods were used to analyse IFA supplementation programmes in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, […]
Adverse perinatal outcomes and its associated factors among adult and advanced maternal age pregnancy in Northwest Ethiopia
Even though reduction of neonatal mortality is needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 2030, advanced maternal age is still an independent and a substantial risk factor for different adverse perinatal outcomes, in turn causes neonatal morbidity and mortality. In Ethiopia, research has validated that advanced maternal age is a significant factor in adverse perinatal outcomes, […]
Maternal HIV infection associated with small-for-gestational age infants but not preterm births: Evidence from rural South Africa
Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is prevalent in many countries where small-for-gestational age (SGA) and premature delivery are also common. However, the associations between maternal HIV, preterm delivery and SGA infants remain unclear. We estimate the prevalence of SGA and preterm (
Impact of the saving mothers, giving life approach on decreasing maternal and perinatal deaths in Uganda and Zambia
Background: Maternal and perinatal mortality is a global development priority that continues to present major challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. Saving Mothers, Giving Life (SMGL) was a multipartner initiative implemented from 2012 to 2017 with the goal of improving maternal and perinatal health in high-mortality settings. The initiative accomplished this by reducing delays to timely and […]
Determinants of maternal near miss among women admitted to maternity wards of tertiary hospitals in Southern Ethiopia, 2020: A hospital-based case-control study
A maternal near-miss (MNM) refers to when a gravely ill woman survives a complication as a result of the standard of care she receives or by chance during gestation, childbirth, or within 42 days of the termination of pregnancy. Rescuers of near-miss events share several features with mothers who have died and identifying MNM determinants […]
Predictors of optimal uptake of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy using sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and outcome of pregnancy in selected health facilities: a cross-sectional study in Northern Ghana
Background: Ghana adopted the 2012 World Health Organization (WHO) policy on intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) and implemented it in 2014 in all regions of Ghana. Despite the implementation of this policy, there has been an unacceptably low percentage of eligible women receiving the optimal dose of IPTp in Ghana which leaves […]
Experiences of and responses to disrespectful maternity care and abuse during childbirth; a qualitative study with women and men in Morogoro Region, Tanzania
Background: Interventions to reduce maternal mortality have focused on delivery in facilities, yet in many low-resource settings rates of facility-based birth have remained persistently low. In Tanzania, rates of facility delivery have remained static for more than 20 years. With an aim to advance research and inform policy changes, this paper builds on a growing body […]
