Undernutrition and its associated factors among pregnant mothers in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia
Background Regardless of significant gains and signs of progress in the last decades, maternal undernutrition remains a major public health concern in Ethiopia. Supporting the progress of interventions being taken in the country with evidence might be important to keep the sustainability of the government effort. We aimed at determining the extent of undernutrition and […]
The prevalence of under nutrition and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care service in public hospitals of western Ethiopia
Background Pregnancy is a time when the body is under a lot of stress, which increases your dietary needs. Under nutrition is a worldwide health issue, especially among pregnant women. Malnutrition during pregnancy can result in miscarriages, fetal deaths during pregnancy, preterm delivery, and maternal mortality for both the mother and her fetus. Therefore, this […]
Adverse pregnancy outcomes in rural Uganda (1996-2013): Trends and associated factors from serial cross sectional surveys
Objective: Community based evidence on pregnancy outcomes in rural Africa is lacking yet it is needed to guide maternal and child health interventions. We estimated and compared adverse pregnancy outcomes and associated factors in rural south-western Uganda using two survey methods. Methods: Within a general population cohort, between 1996 and 2013, women aged 15-49 years […]
Adapting the HIV infant tracking system to support prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Kenya: Protocol for an intervention development pilot study in two hospitals
Background: Despite progress to expand access to HIV testing and treatment during pregnancy in Kenya, gaps still remain in prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services. This study addresses the need for effective and scalable interventions to support women throughout the continuum of care for PMTCT services in low-resource settings. Our research team has […]
Predicting neurodevelopmental risk in children born to mothers living with HIV in Kenya: protocol for a prospective cohort study (Tabiri Study)
Introduction For the growing number of children with in utero and postpartum exposure to HIV and/or antiretrovirals, it is unclear which exposures or risk factors play a significant role in predicting worse neurodevelopmental outcomes. This protocol describes a prospective longitudinal cohort study of infants born to mothers living with HIV and those born to mothers […]
WHO multi-country survey on abortion-related morbidity and mortality in health facilities: Study protocol
Introduction: According to the WHO, abortion accounts for about 8% (4.7–13.2) of maternal mortality worldwide. In 2010, the WHO Multi-Country Survey (MCS) on Maternal and Newborn Health collected data on over 300 000 women who were admitted in health facilities to receive pregnancy-related care. Abortion data were partially captured by centring on severe maternal outcomes […]
Maternal challenges of exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding in Ghana
Mothers are recommended to exclusively breastfeed their infants for the first six months of their lives. Also, after the sixth month, breastfeeding should continue with added complementary foods to the diets of children. Studies designed to sought the views of mothers on breastfeeding practices are limited. The aim of this study was to explore challenges […]
Use of quantitative molecular diagnostic methods to investigate the effect of enteropathogen infections on linear growth in children in low-resource settings: longitudinal analysis of results from the MAL-ED cohort study
Background: Enteropathogen infections in early childhood not only cause diarrhoea but contribute to poor growth. We used molecular diagnostics to assess whether particular enteropathogens were associated with linear growth across seven low-resource settings. Methods: We used quantitative PCR to detect 29 enteropathogens in diarrhoeal and non-diarrhoeal stools collected from children in the first 2 years […]
Understanding the influence of the MomConnect programme on antenatal and postnatal care service utilisation in two South African provinces: A realist evaluation protocol
Introduction Timely antenatal care (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) attendance decrease maternal and child mortality by improving maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes. Mobile health or mHealth has been identified as an effective way of improving the uptake of MCH services. The MomConnect programme is an mHealth initiative launched by the National Department of Health […]
Strengths and limitations of computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI) for nutrition data collection in rural Kenya
Despite progress in fighting undernutrition, Africa has the highest rates of undernutrition globally, exacerbated by drought and conflict. Mobile phones are emerging as a tool for rapid, cost effective data collection at scale in Africa, as mobile phone subscriptions and phone ownership increase at the highest rates globally. To assess the feasibility and biases of […]
