The last one heard: The importance of an early-stage participatory evaluation for programme implementation
Background: The systematic involvement of project beneficiaries in community maternal and child health programmes remains low and limited, especially during the formative stages of the project cycle. Understanding how positive and negative feedbacks obtained from communities can subsequently be used to inform and iterate existing programmes is an important step towards ensuring the success of […]
Trend change in delayed first antenatal care visit among reproductive-aged women in Ethiopia: multivariate decomposition analysis
Background: Early first antenatal care visit is a critical health care service for the well-being of women and newborn babies. However, many women in Ethiopia still start their first antenatal care visit late. We aimed to examine the trend in delayed first antenatal care visit and identify the contributing factors for the trend change in […]
Trends in and socio-demographic factors associated with caesarean section at a Tanzanian referral hospital, 2000 to 2013
Background: Caesarean section (CS) can prevent maternal or fetal complications. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest CS levels in the world but large variations are seen between and within countries. The tertiary hospital, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Tanzania has had a high level of CS over years. The aim of this study was to […]
Utilization of focused antenatal care among expectant women in Murang’a county, Kenya
Focused Antenatal Care (FANC) is crucial to improving maternal and infant health. Despite the Government of Kenya’ efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal morbidities and mortalities, these conditions prevail in Murunga. The current study examined how individual, organizational, and policy factors influence the utilization of focused antenatal care services amongst women in the Gatanga sub-county, […]
Dietary diversity, nutritional status and associated factors among lactating mothers visiting government health facilities at Dessie town, Amhara region, Ethiopia
Background Maternal undernutrition is one of the most common causes of maternal morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Severe undernutrition among mothers leads to reduced lactation performance which further contributes to an increased risk of infant mortality. However, data regarding nutritional status of lactating mothers at Dessie town and its surrounding areas is lacking. This […]
Maternal Health Care Seeking Behavior for Neonatal Danger Signs and Associated Factors Among Post-Partum Mothers in Southeast Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study
Early health care seeking could save neonates’ lives and have a significant role in decreasing neonatal death, while delayed health care seeking has many contributions to neonatal mortality. Therefore, this study aimed to assess maternal health-seeking behavior for neonatal danger signs and associated factors among postpartum mothers in Southeast Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was […]
In Utero ART Exposure and Birth and Early Growth Outcomes among HIV-Exposed Uninfected Infants Attending Immunization Services: Results from National PMTCT Surveillance, South Africa
Background: Despite the recognized benefit of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for preventing and treating HIV, some studies have reported adverse birth outcomes with in utero ART exposure. We evaluated the effect of infant in utero HIV and ART exposure on preterm delivery (PTD), low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA), and underweight for age […]
The association of gut microbiota characteristics in Malawian infants with growth and inflammation
We tested the hypotheses that a more mature or diverse gut microbiota will be positively associated with infant growth and inversely associated with inflammation. We characterized gut microbiota from the stool samples of Malawian infants at 6 mo (n = 527), 12 mo (n = 632) and 18 mo (n = 629) of age. Microbiota […]
Implementation and evaluation of nonclinical interventions for appropriate use of cesarean section in low- And middle-income countries: Protocol for a multisite hybrid effectiveness-implementation type III trial
Background: While cesarean sections (CSs) are a life-saving intervention, an increasing number are performed without medical reasons in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Unnecessary CS diverts scarce resources and thereby reduces access to healthcare for women in need. Argentina, Burkina Faso, Thailand, and Vietnam are committed to reducing unnecessary CS, but many individual and organizational […]
Socioeconomic inequalities in child growth failure in Ethiopia: Findings from the 2000 and 2016 Demographic and Health Surveys
Objective Socioeconomic inequalities in child growth failure (CGF) remain one of the main challenges in Ethiopia. This study examined socioeconomic inequalities in CGF and determinants that contributed to these inequalities in Ethiopia. Methods The Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys 2000 and 2016 data were used in this study. A pooled unweighted sample of the two […]
