Effectiveness of adjunct telephone-based postnatal care on maternal and infant illness in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana: a randomized controlled trial
Introduction: Globally, postnatal care (PNC) is fraught with challenges. Despite high PNC coverages in Ghana’s Greater Accra Region (GAR), maternal and newborn health outcomes are of great concern. In 2017, neonatal and post-neonatal mortality rates in GAR were 19 and 13 per 1000 live births respectively despite PNC coverages of 93% for at least one […]
Implementing the skilled birth attendance strategy in Uganda: A policy analysis
Background: Uganda, a low resource country, implemented the skilled attendance at birth strategy, to meet a key target of the 5th Millenium Development Goal (MDG), 75% reduction in maternal mortality ratio. Maternal mortality rates remained high, despite the improvement in facility delivery rates. In this paper, we analyse the strategies implemented and bottlenecks experienced as […]
Assessing predictors of delayed antenatal care visits in Rwanda: A secondary analysis of Rwanda demographic and health survey 2010
Background: Early initiation of antenatal care (ANC) can reduce common maternal complications and maternal and perinatal mortality. Though Rwanda demonstrated a remarkable decline in maternal mortality and 98% of Rwandan women receive antenatal care from a skilled provider, only 38% of women have an ANC visit in their first three months of pregnancy. This study […]
Determinants of maternal death in a pastoralist area of borena zone, oromia region, Ethiopia: Unmatched case-control study
Background. Globally, more than 830 maternal deaths happen daily, and nearly, all of these occur in developing countries. Similarly, in Ethiopia, maternal mortality is still very high. Studies done in pastoralist women are almost few. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the determinant factors of maternal death in the pastoralist area of […]
Maternal morbidity measurement tool pilot: Study protocol
Background: While it is estimated that for every maternal death, 20-30 women suffer morbidity, these estimates are not based on standardized methods and measures. Lack of an agreed-upon definition, identification criteria, standardized assessment tools, and indicators has limited valid, routine, and comparable measurements of maternal morbidity. The World Health Organization (WHO) convened the Maternal Morbidity […]
Developing a community driven sustainable model of maternity waiting homes for rural Zambia
Background maternity waiting homes (MWHs) are residential dwellings located near health facilities where women in the late stages of pregnancy stay to await childbirth and receive immediate postpartum services. These shelters help overcome distance and transportation barriers that prevent women from receiving timely skilled obstetric care. Objective the purpose of this study was to explore […]
Intimate partner violence and utilization of maternal health care services in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Background: Despite its prominence, intimate partner violence (IPV) against women has received little attention in Ethiopia. And as many of sub-Saharan African countries, maternal health care services utilization remains poor. Full access and utilization of maternal health care services is a key to significant reduction in maternal and child mortality, and eliminate new HIV infection […]
Protocol for analysing the epidemiology of maternal mortality in Zimbabwe: A civil registration and vital statistics trend study
Background Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) carries the highest burden of maternal mortality, yet, the accurate maternal mortality ratios (MMR) are uncertain in most SSA countries. Measuring maternal mortality is challenging in this region, where civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems are weak or non-existent. We describe a protocol designed to explore the use of CRVS […]
Charting health system reconstruction in post-war Liberia: A comparison of rural vs. remote healthcare utilization
Background: Despite a growing global emphasis on universal healthcare, access to basic primary care for remote populations in post-conflict countries remains a challenge. To better understand health sector recovery in post-conflict Liberia, this paper seeks to evaluate changes in utilization of health services among rural populations across a 5-year time span. Methods: We assessed trends […]
Male involvement in maternal health: Perspectives of opinion leaders
Background: Twenty years after acknowledging the importance of joint responsibilities and male participation in maternal health programs, most health care systems in low income countries continue to face challenges in involving men. We explored the reasons for men’s resistance to the adoption of a more proactive role in pregnancy care and their enduring influence in […]
