To call or not to call: Exploring the validity of telephone interviews to derive maternal self-reports of experiences with facility childbirth care in northern Nigeria
Background To institutionalise respectful maternity care, frequent data on the experience of childbirth care is needed by health facility staff and managers. Telephone interviews have been proposed as a low-cost alternative to derive timely and actionable maternal self-reports of experience of care. However, evidence on the validity of telephone interviews for this purpose is limited. […]
Relationships among common illness symptoms and the protective effect of breastfeeding in early childhood in MAL-ED: An eight-country cohort study
Children in low-income countries experience multiple illness symptoms in early childhood. Breastfeeding is protective against diarrhea and respiratory infections, and these illnesses are thought to be risk factors of one another, but these relationships have not been explored simultaneously. In the eight-site MAL-ED study, 1,731 infants were enrolled near birth and followed for 2 years. […]
Availability of essential health services in post-conflict Liberia
Objective To assess the availability of essential health services in northern Liberia in 2008, five years after the end of the civil war. Methods We carried out a population-based household survey in rural Nimba county and a health facility survey in clinics and hospitals nearest to study villages. We evaluated access to facilities that provide […]
Association between ambulance prehospital time and maternal and perinatal outcomes in Sierra Leone: A countrywide study
Introduction Sierra Leone, one of the countries with the highest maternal and perinatal mortality in the world, launched its first National Emergency Medical Service (NEMS) in 2018. We carried out a countrywide assessment to analyse NEMS operational times for obstetric emergencies in respect the access to timely essential surgery within 2 hours. Moreover, we evaluated […]
Association between fetal abdominal growth trajectories, maternal metabolite signatures early in pregnancy, and childhood growth and adiposity: prospective observational multinational INTERBIO-21st fetal study
Background: Obesity predominantly affects populations in high-income countries and those countries facing epidemiological transition. The risk of childhood obesity is increased among infants who had overweight or obesity at birth, but in low-resource settings one in five infants are born small for gestational age. We aimed to study the relationships between: (1) maternal metabolite signatures; […]
A decomposition analysis of change in skilled birth attendants, 2003 to 2008, Ghana demographic and health surveys
Background: The single most critical intervention to improve maternal and neonatal survival is to ensure that a competent health worker with midwifery skills is present at every birth, and transport is available to a referral facility for obstetric care in case of an emergency. This study aims to describe changes in percentage of skilled birth […]
Evaluation of a two-way SMS messaging strategy to reduce neonatal mortality: Rationale, design and methods of the Mobile WACh NEO randomised controlled trial in Kenya
Introduction Globally, approximately half of the estimated 6.3 million under-5 deaths occur in the neonatal period (within the first 28 days of life). Kenya ranks among countries with the highest number of neonatal deaths, at 20 per 1000 live births. Improved identification and management of neonates with potentially life-threatening illness is critical to meet the […]
WHO global vaccine safety multi-country collaboration project on safety in pregnancy: Assessing the level of diagnostic certainty using standardized case definitions for perinatal and neonatal outcomes and maternal immunization
Standardized case definitions strengthen post-marketing safety surveillance of new vaccines by improving generated data, interpretation and comparability across surveillance systems. The Global Alignment of Immunization Safety Assessment in Pregnancy (GAIA) project developed standardized case definitions for 21 key obstetric and neonatal terms following the Brighton Collaboration (BC) methodology. In this prospective cohort study, we assessed […]
Lived experiences and perceptions of childbirth among pastoralist women in north-eastern Ethiopia: A multimethod qualitative analysis to the WHO health systems responsiveness framework
Maternity should be a time of hope and joy. However, for women in pastoralist communities in Ethiopia, the reality of motherhood is often grim. This problem is creating striking disparities of skilled birth uptake among the agrarian and pastoral communities in Ethiopia. So far, the depth and effects of the problem are not well understood. […]
Induced abortion: A cross-sectional study on knowledge of and attitudes toward the new abortion law in Maputo and Quelimane cities, Mozambique
Background: Maternal mortality, of which 6.7% is attributable to abortion complications, remains high in Mozambique. The objective of this paper is to assess the level of induced abortion at the community, as well as to assess awareness of and attitudes towards the new abortion law among women of reproductive age in suburban areas of Maputo […]