Collaborative task-sharing to enhance the Point-Of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) access among expectant women in Kenya: The role of midwife sonographers
Unrealized maternal and child health goals continue to challenge Kenya where adverse outcomes remain high and diagnostic services are limited. The acute shortage of doctors and radiographers requires alternate human resources for health (HRH) with the ability to identify risk factors in pregnancy through Point-Of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS). A specialist radiologist and ultrasonography team partnered with […]
Modeling the spatial patterns of antenatal care utilization in Nigeria with inference based on Pólya-Gamma mixtures
Despite the vast advantages of making antenatal care visits, the service utilization among pregnant women in Nigeria is suboptimal. A five-year monitoring estimate indicated that about 24% of the women who had live births made no visit. The non-utilization induced excessive zeroes in the outcome of interest. Thus, this study adopted a zero-inflated negative binomial […]
Cost of abortions in Zambia: A comparison of safe abortion and post abortion care
Unsafe abortion is a significant but preventable cause of maternal mortality. Although induced abortion has been legal in Zambia since 1972, many women still face logistical, financial, social, and legal obstacles to access safe abortion services, and undergo unsafe abortion instead. This study provides the first estimates of costs of post abortion care (PAC) after […]
Preventive Health Service Coverage Among Infants and Children at Six Maternal-Child Health Clinics in Western Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Assessment
Objectives: Despite the substantial reduction of child mortality in recent decades, Kenya still strives to provide universal healthcare access and to meet other international benchmarks for child health. This study aimed to describe child health service coverage among children visiting six maternal and child health (MCH) clinics in western Kenya. Methods: In a cross-sectional study […]
Group B streptococcus infection during pregnancy and infancy: estimates of regional and global burden
Background: Group B streptococcus (GBS) colonisation during pregnancy can lead to invasive GBS disease (iGBS) in infants, including meningitis or sepsis, with a high mortality risk. Other outcomes include stillbirths, maternal infections, and prematurity. There are data gaps, notably regarding neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI), especially after iGBS sepsis, which have limited previous global estimates. In this […]
Why mothers still deliver at home: Understanding factors associated with home deliveries and cultural practices in rural coastal Kenya, a cross-section study Global health
Background: Maternal mortality has declined by 43 % globally between 1990 and 2013, a reduction that was insufficient to achieve the 75 % reduction target by millennium development goal (MDG) five. Kenya recorded a decline of 18 % from 490 deaths in 1990 to 400 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2013. Delivering at home, […]
Community-linked maternal death review (CLMDR) to measure and prevent maternal mortality: A pilot study in rural Malawi
Background: In Malawi, maternal mortality remains high. Existing maternal death reviews fail to adequately review most deaths, or capture those that occur outside the health system. We assessed the value of community involvement to improve capture and response to community maternal deaths. Methods: We designed and piloted a community-linked maternal death review (CLMDR) process in […]
Maternal near miss among women admitted in major private hospitals in eastern Ethiopia: a retrospective study
Background: Since maternal mortality is a rare event, maternal near miss has been used as a proxy indicator for measuring maternal health. Maternal near miss (MNM) refers to a woman who nearly died but survived of complications during pregnancy, childbirth or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy. Although study of MNM in Ethiopia is […]
How has the free obstetric care policy impacted unmet obstetric need in a rural health district in guinea?
Introduction: In 2010, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Guinea introduced a free emergency obstetric care policy in all the public health facilities of the country. This included antenatal checks, normal delivery and Caesarean section. Objective: This study aims at assessing the changes in coverage of obstetric care according to the Unmet Obstetric Need concept […]
Scoping review of maternal and newborn health interventions and programmes in Nigeria
Objective To systematically scope and map research regarding interventions, programmes or strategies to improve maternal and newborn health (MNH) in Nigeria. Design Scoping review. Data sources and eligibility criteria Systematic searches were conducted from 1 June to 22 July 2020 in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, together with a search of the grey literature. Publications presenting interventions […]
