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 […]
A qualitative evaluation of the choice of traditional birth attendants for maternity care in 2008 Sierra Leone: Implications for Universal Skilled Attendance at Delivery
Maternal and newborn death is common in Sierra Leone; significant reductions in both maternal and newborn mortality require universal access to a skilled attendant during labor and delivery. When too few women use health facilities MDGs 4 and 5 targets will not be met. Our objectives were to identify why women use services provided by […]
Diffusion of Handwashing Knowledge and Water Treatment Practices From Mothers in an Antenatal Hygiene Promotion Program to Nonpregnant Friends and Relatives, Machinga District, Malawi
Access to safe drinking water and improved hygiene are essential for preventing diarrheal diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Integrating water treatment and hygiene products into antenatal clinic care can motivate water treatment and handwashing among pregnant women. Free water hygiene kits (water storage containers, sodium hypochlorite water treatment solution, and soap) and refills of […]
Addressing health system barriers to access to and use of skilled delivery services: perspectives from Ghana
Poor access to and use of skilled delivery services have been identified as a major contributory factor to poor maternal and newborn health in sub-Saharan African countries, including Ghana. However, many previous studies that examine norms of childbirth and care-seeking behaviours have focused on identifying the norms of non-use of services, rather than factors, that […]
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 […]
Incidence of abortion-related near-miss complications in Zambia: cross-sectional study in Central, Copperbelt and Lusaka Provinces
Objectives To describe the magnitude and severity of abortion-related complications in health facilities and calculate the incidence of abortion-related near-miss complications at the population level in three provinces in Zambia, a country where abortion is legal but stigmatized. Study design We conducted a cross-sectional study in 35 district, provincial and tertiary hospitals over 5 months. […]
Bypassing high-quality maternity facilities: Evidence from pregnant women in peri-urban Nairobi
Utilization of high-quality maternal care is an important link along the pathway from increased facility-based delivery to improved maternal health outcomes, however women in Nairobi do not all deliver in the highest quality facilities available to them. We explored whether women living in peri-urban Nairobi who live nearby to high-quality facilities bypassed, or travelled farther […]
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 […]
Health insurance and maternal, newborn services utilisation and under-five mortality
Background: Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced in 2005 as a demand side intervention to remove financial barriers to accessing health services. After almost a decade of implementation, this study aims to investigate the association of NHIS membership with antenatal visits (ANC), postnatal visits (PNC) and under-five mortality, using data from the most […]
