Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG), a First-Aid Device to Decrease Maternal Mortality from Obstetric Hemorrhage: A Cluster Randomized Trial

Background:Obstetric hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality. Using a cluster randomized design, we investigated whether application of the Non-pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG) before transport to referral hospitals (RHs) from primary health care centers (PHCs) decreased adverse outcomes among women with hypovolemic shock. We hypothesized the NASG group would have a 50% reduction in […]

Food beliefs and practices among the Kalenjin pregnant women in rural Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Background: Understanding food beliefs and practices is critical to the development of dietary recommendations, nutritional programmes, and educational messages. This study aimed to understand the pregnancy food beliefs and practices and the underlying reasons for these among the contemporary rural Kalenjin communities of Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. Methods: Through semi-structured interviews, data was collected from […]

Predicted effect of regionalised delivery care on neonatal mortality, utilisation, financial risk, and patient utility in Malawi: an agent-based modelling analysis

Background: Health-care regionalisation, in which selected services are concentrated in higher-level facilities, has successfully improved the quality of complex medical care. However, the effectiveness of this strategy in routine maternal care is unknown. Malawi has established a national goal of halving its neonatal mortality by 2030. In this study, we aimed to assess the effect […]

Association of Prenatal Exposure to Maternal Drinking and Smoking with the Risk of Stillbirth

Importance: Prenatal smoking is a known modifiable risk factor for stillbirth; however, the contribution of prenatal drinking or the combination of smoking and drinking is uncertain. Objective: To examine whether prenatal exposure to alcohol and tobacco cigarettes is associated with the risk of stillbirth. Design, Setting, and Participants: The Safe Passage Study was a longitudinal, […]

Antenatal depression and its potential causal mechanisms among pregnant mothers in Gondar town: Application of structural equation model

Background: Various forms of life stressors have been implicated as causes of antenatal depression. However, there is a lack of understanding of which forms of stress lead to antenatal depression and through what mechanisms. Modeling stress processes within a theoretical model framework can enhance an understanding of the mechanisms underlying relationships between stressors and stress […]

Quality of and barriers to routine childbirth care signal functions in primary level facilities of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: Mixed method study

Background Efforts to expand access to institutional delivery alone without quality of care do not guarantee better survival. However, little evidence documents the quality of childbirth care in Ethiopia, which limits our ability to improve quality. Therefore, this study assessed the quality of and barriers to routine childbirth care signal functions during intra-partum and immediate […]

Women’s satisfaction with the quality of antenatal care services rendered at public health facilities in Northwest Ethiopia: The application of partial proportional odds model

Objectives The study was aimed: (1) to describe the quality of antenatal care (ANC) at public health facilities in Northwest Ethiopia, including dimensions of the structure, process and outcome; and (2) to assess the relationship between ANC satisfaction and structure and process dimension of ANC quality. Design Cross sectional. Setting Healthcare facilities providing ANC services […]