Where and why do we lose women from the continuum of care in maternal health? A mixed-methods study in Southern Benin
Objective: Continuum of care (CoC) in maternal health is built on evidence suggesting that the integration of effective interventions across pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period leads to better perinatal health outcomes. We explored gaps along the CoC in maternal health in Benin. Methods: A mixed-methods study triangulating results from a qualitative study in southern […]
Evaluating the accessibility and utility of HIV-related point-of-care diagnostics for maternal health in rural South Africa: A study protocol
Introduction: Poor healthcare access is a major barrier to receiving antenatal care and a cause of high maternal mortality in South Africa (SA). ‘Point-of-care’ (POC) diagnostics is a powerful emerging healthcare approach to improve healthcare access. This study focuses on evaluating the accessibility and utility of POC diagnostics for maternal health in rural SA primary […]
Prevalence and factors associated with complementary feeding practices among children aged 6-23 months in India: A regional analysis
Background: Inappropriate complementary feeding practices significantly contribute to undernutrition among children under 2 years of age in India. However, there is limited up-to-date evidence on the prevalence and factors associated with complementary feeding practices to guide policy actions at the subnational level in India. We investigated the regional prevalence and factors associated with complementary feeding […]
Reducing stillbirths in Ethiopia: Results of an intervention programme
Previous studies from South Ethiopia have shown that interventions that focus on intrapartum care substantially reduce maternal mortality and there is a need to operationalize health packages that could reduce stillbirths. The aim of this paper is to evaluate if a programme that aimed to improve maternal health, and mainly focusing on strengthening intrapartum care, […]
Decomposition analysis of the compositional and contextual factors associated with poor-non-poor inequality in diarrhoea among under-five children in low- and middle-income countries
Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the magnitude of wealth inequalities in the development of diarrhoea among under-five children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to identify and quantify contextual and compositional factors’ contribution to the inequalities. Design: This is a cross-sectional study. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 57 Demographic […]
Maternal health challenges experienced by adolescents; could community score cards address them? A case study of Kibuku District– Uganda
Introduction: Approximately 34.8% of the Ugandan population is adolescents. The national teenage pregnancy rate is 25% and in Kibuku district, 17.6% of adolescents aged 12–19 years have begun child bearing. Adolescents mothers are vulnerable to many maternal health challenges including; stigma, unfriendly services and early marriages. The community score card (CSC) is a social accountability […]
The effects of maternal haemoglobin as an indicator of maternal nutritional status on, maternal measles antibodies of mother-infant pairs at birth
Background: Maternal measles antibodies (MMA) are actively transferred through the placenta from mother to foetus. A relationship could exist between MMA of mother-infant pairs and maternal nutritional indicator (haemoglobin). Objectives: This study reviewed the effects of maternal haemoglobin (Hb) on MMA of mother-infant pairs at birth. Methods: One hundred and fifty three mother-infant pairs were […]
Maternal health care service seeking behaviors and associated factors among women in rural Haramaya District, Eastern Ethiopia: a triangulated community-based cross-sectional study
Background: Regular utilization of maternal health care services reduces maternal morbidity and mortality. This study assessed the maternal health care seeking behavior and associated factors of reproductive age women in rural villages of Haramaya district, East Ethiopia. Methods: Community based cross sectional study supplemented with qualitative data was conducted in Haramaya district from November 15 […]
Assessing coverage, equity and quality gaps in maternal and neonatal care in sub-Saharan Africa: An integrated approach
Background: Gaps in coverage, equity and quality of health services hinder the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 in most countries of sub-Saharan Africa as well as in other high-burden countries, yet few studies attempt to assess all these dimensions as part of the situation analysis. We present the base-line data of […]
Maternal mortality in rural south ethiopia: Outcomes of community-based birth registration by health extension workers
Introduction Rural communities in low-income countries lack vital registrations to track birth outcomes. We aimed to examine the feasibility of community-based birth registration and measure maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in rural south Ethiopia. Methods In 2010, health extension workers (HEWs) registered births and maternal deaths among 421,639 people in three districts (Derashe, Bonke, and Arba […]
