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Background: Self-medication is the use of drugs without a medical prescription to treat self-identified illnesses; it is also the continued use of drugs without a physician's order for recurring symptoms, either by sharing or purchasing them from unlicensed vendors. It entails substantial risk to pregnant women and fetuses. Magnitude of the problem and its factors among rural pregnant women is not studied in Ethiopia. Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of self-medication practice and identify its associated factors among pregnant women in rural Southwest Shewa, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 585 randomly selected pregnant women in selected rural public health institutions from May to July 2021. Data was collected by using an interviewer-administered pretested structured questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with self-medication. Variables with p-value < 0.05 for the 95% confidence interval of the adjusted odds ratio were considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 585 pregnant women participated in the study with a response rate of 92.3%. The prevalence of self-medication among pregnant women was 19.8%. Primigravidity (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.2– 6.1), lower educational status of husbands (AOR = 3.6, 95% CI: 1.02– 12.9), living close to health facilities (AOR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.09– 0.6) and knowing one's own gestational age (AOR = 0.5,95% CI: 0.30– 0.9) were significantly associated with self-medication practice. Conclusion and Recommendation: One in five of the pregnant women practiced self-medication during the current pregnancy. Primigravidity and lower educational status of husbands were associated with a higher probability of self-medication. Knowing gestational age and living close to health facilities were associated with a lower likelihood of practicing self-medication. Rational drug use has to be promoted among pregnant women. Maternal and child health interventions should also target husbands. Health education has to be strengthened to help pregnant women have a safe pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pregnant women who had full antenatal care follow-up are expected to give birth in health facilities. However, in Ethiopia, after full antenatal care booking, many women still prefer to give birth at home. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore and describe why women give childbirth at home after full antenatal care follow-up in the study setting. Methods: Exploratory-descriptive qualitative design was conducted in Humbo and Abala Abaya districts, Southern Ethiopia, from June to September 2020. Nine in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions were held with purposively selected participants. Women who gave birth at home after attending equal to or more than four antenatal care appointments in the last year were included. The collected data were majorly analyzed by inductive thematic analysis technique, but deductive analysis was also applied whenever the potential themes needed further enrichment. A thick description of the findings is done in the respective heading and sub-heading using participants' verbatim quotations. Results: A total of 9 in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions comprising 35 participants was conducted. Three major themes and nine sub-themes emerged from the data. Socio-cultural and community influences, socio-economic obstacles, and health system-related barriers are the major themes identified. Traditional practices, personal beliefs, social norms, knowledge, and attitude about institutional delivery, household economic capability, decision-making capacity of the women, delivery service quality, and service providers related barriers are the sub-themes defining the home delivery experience of women after full antenatal care follow-up in the study setting. Conclusion: In this study, socio-economic, cultural, and health system-related barriers are major reasons for home delivery. Improvement of public awareness on the risk of home delivery and elimination of its facilitative social norms, empowerment of women's economic, educational, and decision-making capability and healthcare workers' and health facilities' capacity are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

aimanot Abebe,2 Shegaw Tesfa,2 Seblework Abeje31Department of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia; 2Department of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia; 3Department of Biomedical, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wolkite University, Wolkite, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Shegaw Geze Tenaw, Department of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia, Email [email protected] Background: COVID-19 pandemic directly or indirectly increases the burden of unintended pregnancy by limiting women's access to family planning and other reproductive health services. COVID-19 results in extra 15 million unintended pregnancies over a year. Almost all previous studies conducted about unintended pregnancy were before COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of unintended pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic among women attending antenatal care in public hospitals of southwest Ethiopia. Methods: This study was cross-sectional and conducted among women attending antenatal care at public hospitals of southwest Ethiopia from June 14 to July 14, 2021. Data were collected using a face-to-face interview. Factors associated with unintended pregnancy were analyzed using binary and multiple logistic regressions with an adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Finally, the p-value was used as a graded measure of evidence to quantify the degree of significance. Results: A total of 405 women participated in this study. The overall prevalence of unintended pregnancy was 19.5% (95% CI: 1.44– 6.92) among women attending antenatal care during COVID-19 pandemic. Of which, 50.6% were mistimed and 49.4% unwanted. Urban residence (AOR: 3.1 95% CI: 1.44– 6.92) and not being primary decision-maker (AOR: 2.85 95CI: 1.18– 6.88) had high significance with unintended pregnancy. Not having ANC in a previous pregnancy (AOR: 3.40; 95% CI: 1.02– 11.94) and not being exposed to community education about maternal health care (AOR: 2.36; 95% CI: 1.06– 5.27) had medium significance with unintended pregnancy. Conclusion: One-fifth of women attending antenatal care had unintended pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to scale up women's decision-making power on family planning services and access to community education are needed to prevent unintended pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]