Maternal and foetal medical conditions during pregnancy as determinants of intrapartum stillbirth in public health facilities of addis ababa: A case-control study
Introduction: globally, intrapartum stillbirth accounts for 1 million deaths of babies annually, representing approximately one-third of global stillbirth toll. Intrapartum stillbirth occurs due to causes ranging from maternal medical and obstetric conditions; access to quality obstetric care services during pregnancy; and types, timing and quality of intrapartum care. Different medical conditions including hypertensive & metabolic […]
Birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant women admitted in a rural hospital in Rwanda
Background: With an aim to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes, ‘birth preparedness and complication readiness’ (BP/CR) promotes timely access to skilled maternal and neonatal services. Objective of this study was to assess implementation of BP/CR among pregnant women admitted with obstetric emergencies in rural Rwanda. Methods: A cross-sectional study among pregnant women who were referred to […]
Determinants of maternal near miss among women in public hospital maternity wards in Northern Ethiopia: A facility based case-control study
Background: In Ethiopia, 20,000 women die each year from complications related to pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum. For every woman that dies, 20 more experience injury, infection, disease, or disability. “Maternal near miss” (MNM), defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a woman who nearly dies, but survives a complication during pregnancy, childbirth or within […]
Socio-economic inequalities in intimate partner violence justification among women in Ghana: analysis of the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey data
BACKGROUND: One of the key reasons for the high prevalence of intimate partner violence among women is the justification of intimate partner violence. Socio-economic status of women plays a key role in intimate partner violence justification. This study investigated the socio-economic inequalities in the justification of intimate partner violence among Ghanaian women. METHODS: Data from […]
Mental health experiences of mothers in Jos, Nigeria: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
Objectives: There is an increasing mental health disease burden in mothers with infants and young children, especially in low- and middle-income countries such as Nigeria. Children of distressed mothers suffer early-life exposure from the effects of maternal distress which contributes to the risk of physical and mental health problems in their childhood and beyond. This […]
Disparities in mothers’ healthcare seeking behavior for common childhood morbidities in Ethiopia: based on nationally representative data
Background: Childhood morbidities such as diarrhea and pneumonia are the leading causes of death in Ethiopia. Appropriate healthcare-seeking behavior of mothers for common childhood illnesses could prevent a significant number of these early deaths; however, little nation-wide research has been conducted in Ethiopia to assess mothers’ healthcare-seeking behavior for their under five children. Methods: The […]
Early-life exposure to indoor air pollution or tobacco smoke and lower respiratory tract illness and wheezing in African infants: a longitudinal birth cohort study
Background Indoor air pollution (IAP) and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) are associated with lower respiratory tract illness (LRTI) or wheezing in children. However, the effect of the timing of these exposures, specifically antenatal versus postnatal, and of alternate fuel sources such as the increasingly used volatile organic compounds have not been well studied. We longitudinally […]
Prenatal hiv test uptake and its associated factors for prevention of mother to child transmission of hiv in East Africa
Identifying the socioeconomic and structural issues that act as enablers and/or barriers to HIV testing services is critical in combatting HIV/AIDS amongst mothers and children in Africa. In this study, we used a weighted sample of 46,645 women aged 15–49 who gave birth in the two years preceding the survey from the recent DHS dataset […]
Burden of invasive group B Streptococcus disease and early neurological sequelae in South African infants
Introduction: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis. We aimed to evaluate the burden of invasive early-onset (0-6 days of life, EOD) and late-onset (7-89 days, LOD) GBS disease and subsequent neurological sequelae in infants from a setting with a high prevalence (29.5%) of HIV among pregnant women. Methods: […]
Bridging the policy-implementation gap in federal health systems: Lessons from the nigerian experience
The Partnership for Reviving Routine Immunization in Northern Nigeria-Maternal, Newborn and Child Health initiative supports efforts by the government of Nigeria to bridge primary health care (PHC) policies and services at three levels of government: federal, state and local. The paper suggests that understandings informed by complexity theory and complex adaptive systems have been helpful […]