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Background. In Sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations, including Ethiopia, anemia is a significant public health issue. Ethiopia has continued to bear the enormous burden of anemia infections. Over time, the prevalence of anemia has significantly increased in Ethiopia. In addition, there is a paucity of literature and regional variations in the pace of increment expansion. Therefore, the primary goal of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of anemia and risk factors among women in Ethiopia's two most anemic regions. Methods. 2,519 women participated in a community-based cross-sectional study from January 18 to June 27, 2016. In order to determine the causes of anemia in women in two of Ethiopia's most anemic regions, an ordinal logistic regression model was taken into consideration. The applicability of the proportional odds test was evaluated using the chi-square test of the parallelism assumption. A p value of 0.05 or below was used to define crucial and statistically significant predictor variables. Results. The overall prevalence rate of anemia was 56.8% (95% CI (54.8%–58.7%)). The chi-square test of the parallelism assumption indicated that the odds ratios were constant across all cut-off points of women's anemia levels at a 5% significance level (p value = 0.122). Of the severity of anemia levels among women, 48.2, 46.1, and 5.7% had mild, moderate, and severe anemia levels, respectively. In multivariable ordinal logistic regression analyses, being born (lived) in the Somali region (AOR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.37, 1.90), having a parity of 4–5 (AOR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.66), and having ≥6 children (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.7), being a contraceptive user (AOR = 3, 95% CI: 2.5, 3.6), being currently pregnant (AOR = 2.8, 95% CI: 2.3, 3.4), having no ANC follow-up (AOR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.6, 2.3), being married women (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.9), and user of unimproved toilet facility (AOR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.6) were significantly positively associated with anemia. Conclusions. Finally, the anemia burden was dangerously greater than the national average. The region, usage of contraceptives, being pregnant at the time, ANC follow-up, toilet facilities, parity, and marital status all had a substantial impact on anemia. Therefore, to lessen the prevalence of anemia in certain parts of Ethiopia, public health initiatives that improve maternal health service utilization are required, such as ANC follow-up to minimize parity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Adequate antenatal care is essential for the health of the mother and the development of the fetus. The World Health Organization recommends at least four antenatal care (ANC) visits during pregnancy. In Ethiopia, only 32% of women of childbearing age attend four or more ANC visits. This figure is significantly lower than the average for least developed countries. This study is aimed at calculating the magnitude and identifying the factors associated with optimal antenatal care utilization in the South Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the South Gondar Zone of Northwest Ethiopia from September 2020 to May 2021. A total of 434 participants were selected using multistage cluster sampling. Data were gathered through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. A multivariate binary logistic regression model was used to determine the factors associated with the optimal use of antenatal care. Result. The magnitude of optimal antenatal care utilization was 59% (95% CI; 54.20, 63.65). The study showed that mothers who completed their secondary school (AOR = 8.205 ; 95% CI: 3.406, 19.767), women who completed their tertiary school (AOR = 6.406 ; 95% CI: 2.229, 18.416), women whose husbands' level of education is secondary school (AOR = 5.967 ; 95% CI: 2.753, 12.936), those with a planned pregnancy (AOR = 1.912 ; 95% CI: 1.117, 3.271), those with a wanted pregnancy (AOR = 2.341 ; 95% CI: 1.366, 4.009), women whose husbands work in the government or nongovernment sector (AOR = 3.736 ; 95% CI: 2.093, 6.669), those not being exposed to the media (AOR = 0.520 ; 95% CI: 0.345, 0.783), and rural women (AOR = 0.267 ; 95% CI: 0.164, 0.435) were significantly associated with optimal ANC utilization. Conclusion. The findings suggest that more emphasis should be placed on education-based programs for women and their husbands that highlight the benefits of a planned pregnancy, desired pregnancy, and maternal health care. Meanwhile, the government and other concerned bodies should focus on expanding road accessibility, health institutions, and ambulance distribution to improve optimal ANC utilization in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Antenatal care service satisfaction is a measure of the degree to which a woman seeking care is happy with the antenatal care service provided to her. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to identify factors that determine antenatal care service satisfaction among women in Ethiopia. Methods. PubMed, Hinari, and Google Scholar were systematically searched for eligible studies. In addition, national university digital libraries were also searched. The Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI) critical appraisal tools were used to assess the quality of the included articles. The Cochrane Q-statistics and I2 tests were used to assess heterogeneity among the included studies. Publication bias was assessed using Egger's test. Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Analytical Cross-Sectional Studies. The extracted data were analyzed using STATA version 14 software and the results were presented using the forest plot. Results. Of the 274 articles identified through the systematic search of the literature, 13 studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included in this meta-analysis. First antenatal care visit (AOR: 0.62 and 95% CI: 0.40, 0.96), women waited <60 min (AOR: 1.87 and 95% CI: 1.40–2.50), women whose privacy was maintained (AOR: 3.91 and 95% CI: 1.97–7.77), women treated respectfully (AOR: 5.07 and 95% CI: 2.34–10.96), and unplanned pregnancies (AOR = 0.28 and 95% CI: 0.10–0.77) were significantly associated with antenatal care service satisfaction. Conclusion. The study assessed the determinants of antenatal care service satisfaction in Ethiopia. First antenatal care visit, waiting time (<60 min) to see the care provider, maintenance of privacy, respectful treatment, and pregnancy unplanned were found to be determinants of antenatal care service satisfaction. Counseling a woman to comply with a minimum required antenatal care visits and compassionate and respectful maternity care will increase maternal satisfaction with the antenatal care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Mixed infant feeding practice remains a major setback for effective prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV program and updated evidences on this issue is essential for better interventions. Therefore, this study was aimed at assessing the proportion and associated factors of mixed infant feeding practice among HIV-positive women under care in public health institutions in Gondar city within two years postpartum, Ethiopia, 2017. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 485 HIV-positive women under care in Gondar City's health facilities from May 1 to June 30/2017. Data were collected via interviewer administered questionnaire supplemented with chart review, entered into Epinfo version 7.0 and then exported to SPSS version 20.0. Both bivariable and multivariable analyses were done, and the statistical significance of each variable was claimed based on the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and its P value ≤0.05. Result. The proportion of HIV-positive women practicing mixed infant feeding was 21.6%. Whereas, about 73.8% and 4.5% of the mothers demonstrated exclusive breastfeeding and exclusive replacement feeding, respectively. Mixed infant feeding practice was independently predicted by lack of antenatal care (AOR = 6.9 ; 95% CI: 3.4, 14.1) and home delivery (AOR = 2.8 ; 95% CI: 1.4, 5.4). Conclusion. The magnitude of mixed infant feeding practice was higher than the reports of many other studies, and its predictors were connected to poor adherence to maternal health care service utilization. Hence, stakeholders need to work more on ANC and facility delivery service coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]