Search

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]

Background: Regular monitoring and evaluation improves the quality of health services. Client satisfaction is an indicator of the quality of a health service. Poor maternal satisfaction with antenatal care services has negative outcomes. Currently, women's satisfaction with antenatal care services is below standard in low-income countries such as Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess women's satisfaction and its associated factors with antenatal care services. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September 23 to October 23, 2019. A total of 405 women were involved in the study. A systematic random sampling technique was used. The data were coded manually and checked visually for completeness. The data were entered using Epi Info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistic was computed. Thechi-squared test was performed and factors associated with women's satisfaction with antenatal care services were selected for multiple logistic regression at a probability value (p-value) of < 0.2 in the chi-squared analysis. Statistically significant associated factors were identified at a p-value of ≤ 0.05, and with adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results: Among 405 participants, 53.8% (95% CI=48.7– 59%) of women were satisfied with the antenatal care services. Age of mothers (AOR=6.04, 95% CI=2.3– 15.9), advice on danger signs in pregnancy (AOR=4.53, 95% CI=2.7– 7.52), previous antenatal care visits (AOR=3.8, 95% CI=2.0– 7.52), respectful maternity care (AOR=8.2, 95% CI=3.3– 20.4), and planned pregnancy (AOR=2.8, 95% CI=1.6– 4.8) were statistically significantly associated with women's satisfaction with antenatal care services. Conclusion: About half of the participants were satisfied with the antenatal care services. Age of participants, respectful maternity care, advice on danger signs in pregnancy, previous antenatal care visits, and planned pregnancy were found to be predictors of women's satisfaction with antenatal care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anemia is a significant public health concern in many developing countries, particularly during pregnancy, and it has adverse effects on mother and fetus/baby. Objective: To determine the factors associated with anemia among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Jigjiga public health facilities, Somali Region, East Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based unmatched case–control study was conducted. The sample size was 228 pregnant women; comprising 114 presenting with anemia and 114 controls. Hemoglobin levels were measured using a portable heme analyzer. Socio-demographic, dietary, medical history, and nutrition-related data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were entered into Epidata 3.1 and exported to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 for cleaning and analyses. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was performed and statistical significance was considered at a level of p< 0.05. Results: Three predictors of anemia among pregnant women were identified in this study. An inadequate intake of red meat (i.e. those who consumed red meat 1– 2 times a month [AOR=7.245; 95% CI=(2.007– 26.151)] or not at all [AOR=8.690; 95% CI=(1.795– 42.072)]), and insufficient consumption of green vegetables (i.e. 1– 2 times a week [AOR=2.970; 95% CI=(1.012– 8.716)] or 1– 2 times a month [AOR=8.057; 95% CI=(2.358– 27.526)]) were associated with anemia. Also, having a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) of less than 23 cm was strongly associated [AOR=16.432; 95% CI= (5.240– 51.526)] with anemia. Conclusion: This study revealed three key factors to be associated with anemia among pregnant women in Jigjiga Town, namely reduced intake of red meat and green vegetables, and low MUAC. Interventions including nutrition counselling and enrolling pregnant women with low nutritional status in nutritional programs should be the core components of anemia control strategies, needed to address the high prevalence of anemia during pregnancy in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal mortality rates are unacceptably high in Ethiopia. Institutional delivery with skilled care of the mother is one of the interventions proven to reduce the risk of complications that can cause maternal and neonatal mortality. Quality of service given during antenatal visits and childbirth are important measures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of skilled institutional delivery and its repeat use during a subsequent pregnancy and to identify any reasons why women avoid institutional delivery. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2012 in Chilga Woreda, Northwest Ethiopia. Data were collected from women who gave birth during the year preceding the survey. Information was entered and cleaned using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Multivariate and binary logistic regression was used to identify the relative effect of each explanatory variable on the outcome. Results: A total of 402 (84.2%) women gave birth at home. Previous experience of skilled institutional delivery had a limited role in subsequent acceptance or use of institutional delivery. Most mothers who had previously had institutional delivery gave birth at home. Although 111 (40.8%) women visited the health facility during their pregnancy only because of illness, 184 (38.8%) did not know when to visit for antenatal care. In multivariate analysis, lower maternal education, being a rural resident, previous use of institutional delivery, remoteness of the health facility, and multiparity were factors significantly associated with less likelihood of institutional delivery. Number of months pregnant at the time of the first antenatal visit had no role in increasing the likelihood of institutional delivery. Conclusion: The quality of the obstetric services presently available for women living in Ethiopia needs review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]