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Background We aimed to describe the availability of newborn health policies across the continuum of care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to assess the relationship between the availability of newborn health policies and their achievement of global Sustainable Development Goal and Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) neonatal mortality and stillbirth rate targets in 2019. Methods We used data from World Health Organization's 2018-2019 sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (SRMNCAH) Policy Survey and extracted key newborn health service delivery and cross-cutting health systems policies that align with the WHO health system building blocks. We constructed composite measures to represent packages of newborn health policies for five components along the continuum of care: antenatal care (ANC), childbirth, postnatal care (PNC), essential newborn care (ENC), and management of small and sick newborns (SSNB). We used descriptive analyses to present the differences in the availability of newborn health service delivery policies by World Bank income group in 113 LMICs. We employed logistic regression analysis to assess the relationship between the availability of each composite newborn health policy package and achievement of global neonatal mortality and stillbirth rate targets by 2019. Results In 2018, most LMICs had existing policies regarding newborn health across the continuum of care. However, policy specifications varied widely. While the availability of the ANC, childbirth, PNC, and ENC policy packages was not associated with having achieved global NMR targets by 2019, LMICs with existing policy packages on the management of SSNB were 4.4 times more likely to have reached the global NMR target (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=4.40; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.09-17.79) after controlling for income group and supporting health systems policies. Conclusions Given the current trajectory of neonatal mortality in LMICs, there is a dire need for supportive health systems and policy environments for newborn health across the continuum of care. Adoption and implementation of evidence-informed newborn health policies will be a crucial step in putting LMICs on track to meet global newborn and stillbirth targets by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act of 1971 liberalized abortion laws in India. This study examines changes in abortion service provision and characteristics of abortion providers in Bihar and Jharkhand states, India between 2004 and 2013. Methods: We used state-representative data from cross-sectional surveys of reproductive health service providers we conducted in 2004 (N = 1,323) and 2012/2013 (N = 1,020). We employed chi-squared tests to examine and compare abortion providers’ characteristics, and fitted separate multivariate logistic regression models for provision of surgical, medical, and any abortion services, respectively, adjusting for potential confounders to identify factors associated with abortion service provision at the two survey time points. Results: Of providers interviewed in 2004 and 2012/2013, 63.7% and 84.5%, respectively, offered abortion services. Among abortion providers, 21.1% offered surgical and 10.7% offered medical abortions in 2004; 15.8% and 94.1% did so, respectively, in 2012/2013. Private providers were more likely than public providers to offer abortion services at both time points. Compared to female providers, male providers were significantly less likely to provide both surgical and medical abortions in 2004, and significantly less likely to provide surgical abortions in 2012/2013. Pharmacists and community health workers played increasingly important roles in abortion service provision, especially medical abortion, during the period. Conclusion: This study documents important changes in abortion provision in the two Indian states during 2004–2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Malawi government encourages early antenatal care, delivery in health facilities, and timely postnatal care. Efforts to sustain or increase current levels of perinatal service utilization may not achieve desired gains if the quality of care provided is neglected. This study examined predictors of perinatal service utilization and patients' satisfaction with these services with a focus on quality of care.Methods: We used baseline, two-stage cluster sampling household survey data collected between November and December, 2012 before implementation of CARE's Community Score Card© intervention in Ntcheu district, Malawi. Women with a birth during the last year (N = 1301) were asked about seeking: 1) family planning, 2) antenatal, 3) delivery, and 4) postnatal care; the quality of care received; and their overall satisfaction with the care received. Specific quality of care items were assessed for each type of service, and up to five such items per type of service were used in analyses. Separate logistic regression models were fitted to examine predictors of family planning, antenatal, delivery, and postnatal service utilization and of complete satisfaction with each of these services; all models were adjusted for women's socio-demographic characteristics, perceptions of the closest facility to their homes, service use indicators, and quality of care items.Results: We found higher levels of perinatal service use than previously documented in Malawi (baseline antenatal care 99.4%; skilled birth attendance 97.3%; postnatal care 77.5%; current family planning use 52.8%). Almost 73% of quality of perinatal care items assessed were favorably reported by > 90% of women. Women reported high overall satisfaction (≥85%) with all types of services examined, higher for antenatal and postnatal care than for family planning and delivery care. We found significant associations between perceived and actual quality of care and both women's use and satisfaction with the perinatal health services received.Conclusions: Quality of care is a key predictor of perinatal health service utilization and complete patient satisfaction with such services in Malawi. The current heightened attention toward perinatal health services and outcomes should be coupled with efforts to improve the actual quality of care offered to women in this country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher use of maternal and neonatal health (MNH) services may reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in Kenya. This study aims to: 1) prospectively explore women’s intentions to use MNH services (antenatal care, delivery in a facility, postnatal care, neonatal care) at <20 and 30–35 weeks’ gestation and their actual use of these services; 2) identify predictors of intention-behavior discordance among women with positive service use intentions; 3) examine associations between place of delivery, women’s reasons for choosing it, and birthing experiences. We used data from a 2012–2013 population-based cohort of pregnant women in the Demographic Surveillance Site in Nyanza province, Kenya. Of 1,056 women completing the study (89.1% response rate), 948 had live-births and 22 stillbirths, and they represent our analytic sample. Logistic regression analysis identified predictors of intention-behavior discordance regarding delivery in a facility and use of postnatal and neonatal care. At <20 and 30–35 weeks’ gestation, most women intended to seek MNH services (≥93.9% and ≥87.5%, respectively, for all services assessed). Actual service use was high for antenatal (98.1%) and neonatal (88.5%) care, but lower for delivery in a facility (76.9%) and postnatal care (51.8%). Woman’s age >35 and high-school education were significant predictors of intention-behavior discordance regarding delivery in a facility; several delivery-related factors were significantly associated with intention-behavior discordance regarding use of postnatal and neonatal care. Delivery facilities were chosen based on proximity to women’s residence, affordability, and service quality; among women who delivered outside a health facility, 16.3% could not afford going to a facility. Good/very good birth experiences were reported by 93.6% of women who delivered in a facility and 32.6% of women who did not. We found higher MNH service utilization than previously documented in Nyanza province. Further increasing the number of facility deliveries and use of postnatal care may improve MNH in Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Despite having one of the most liberal abortion laws in sub-Saharan Africa, complications from induced abortion are the second leading cause of maternal mortality in Ghana. Study Design: The sample is composed of patients with pregnancy termination complications in Ghana between June and July 2008. The majority of patients report having had a spontaneous abortion (75%; n=439), while 17% (n=100) and 8% (n=46) report having had an induced abortion or an ectopic pregnancy, respectively. Factors associated with women in each of the three groups were explored using multinomial logistic regression. Results: When compared to women with spontaneous abortions, women with induced abortions were younger, poorer, more likely to report no religious affiliation, less likely to be married, more likely to report making the household decisions and more likely to fail to disclose this pregnancy to their partners. Within the induced abortion subsample, failure to disclose the most recent pregnancy was associated with already having children and autonomous household decision making. Conclusion: Identifying the individual and relationship characteristics of induced abortion patients is the first step toward targeted policies and programs aimed at reducing unsafe abortion in Ghana. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective To examine the use of contraception in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa; to assess changes in met need for contraception associated with wealth-related inequity; and to describe the relationship between the use of long-term versus short-term contraceptive methods and a woman's fertility intentions and household wealth. Methods The analysis was conducted with Demographic and Health Survey data from 13 sub-Saharan African countries. Wealth-related inequities in the use of contraception were calculated using household wealth and concentration indices. Logistic regression models were fitted for the likelihood of using a long-term contraceptive method, with adjustments for: wealth index quintile, fertility intentions (to space births versus to stop childbearing), residence (urban/rural), education, number of living children, marital status and survey year. Findings The use of contraception has increased substantially between surveys in Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia but has declined slightly in Kenya, Senegal and Uganda. Wealth-related inequalities in the met need for contraception have decreased in most countries and especially so in Mozambique, but they have increased in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia with regard to spacing births, and in Malawi, Senegal, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia with regard to limiting childbearing. After adjustment for fertility intention, women in the richest wealth quintile were more likely than those in the poorest quintile to practice long-term contraception. Conclusion Family planning programmes in sub-Saharan Africa show varying success in reaching all social segments, but inequities persist in all countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Relative to the attention given to improving the quality of and access to maternal health services, the influence of women's socio-economic situation on maternal health care use has received scant attention. The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between women's economic, educational and empowerment status, introduced as the 3Es, and maternal health service utilization in developing countries. Methods/Principal Findings: The analysis uses data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 31 countries for which data on all the 3Es are available. Separate logistic regression models are fitted for modern contraceptive use, antenatal care and skilled birth attendance in relation to the three covariates of interest: economic, education and empowerment status, additionally controlling for women's age and residence. We use meta-analysis techniques to combine and summarize results from multiple countries. The 3Es are significantly associated with utilization of maternal health services. The odds of having a skilled attendant at delivery for women in the poorest wealth quintile are 94% lower than that for women in the highest wealth quintile and almost 5 times higher for women with complete primary education relative to those less educated. The likelihood of using modern contraception and attending four or more antenatal care visits are 2.01 and 2.89 times, respectively, higher for women with complete primary education than for those less educated. Women with the highest empowerment score are between 1.31 and 1.82 times more likely than those with a null empowerment score to use modern contraception, attend four or more antenatal care visits and have a skilled attendant at birth. Conclusions/Significance: Efforts to expand maternal health service utilization can be accelerated by parallel investments in programs aimed at poverty eradication (MDG 1), universal primary education (MDG 2), and women's empowerment (MDG 3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Despite liberal laws, abortions are a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in India. Study Design: This study uses health provider data (N=2039) collected in Bihar and Jharkhand states, India, in 2004. Logistic regression models are fitted to identify correlates of providers'' practice of abortion services and intention to offer medical abortions. Results: While a majority of respondents (63.2%) provide abortion services, only 2.9% currently provide medical abortions and 23.8% intend to provide medical abortions. Private rather than public clinic providers and female rather than male providers are more likely to offer abortion services and intend to provide medical abortions. Aspects related to medical abortion''s market demand, its safety, efficacy and perceived ease of delivery weigh more than patients'' rights and personal interests on providers'' decision to provide medical abortions. Conclusion: This study enlarges the knowledge base on abortion service providers and offers recommendations for improving access to safe abortion services in India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Political, social, economic, and health system determinants play an important role in creating an enabling environment for maternal and newborn health. This study assesses changes in health systems and policy indicators for maternal and newborn health across 78 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) during 2008–2018, and examines contextual factors associated with policy adoption and systems changes. We compiled historical data from WHO, ILO, and UNICEF surveys and databases to track changes in ten maternal and newborn health systems and policy indicators prioritized for tracking by global partnerships. Logistic regression was used to examine the odds of systems and policy change based on indicators of economic growth, gender equality, and country governance with available data from 2008 to 2018. From 2008 to 2018, many LMICs (44/76; 57·9%) substantially strengthened systems and policies for maternal and newborn health. The most frequently adopted policies were national guidelines for kangaroo mother care, national guidelines for use of antenatal corticosteroids, national policies for maternal death notification and review, and the introduction of priority medicines in Essential Medicines Lists. The odds of policy adoption and systems investments were significantly greater in countries that experienced economic growth, had strong female labor participation, and had strong country governance (all p < 0·05). The widespread adoption of priority policies over the past decade is a notable step in creating an environment supportive for maternal and newborn health, but continued leadership and resources are needed to ensure robust implementation that translates into improved health outcomes. • From 2008 to 2018, many LMICs adopted policies supportive of maternal and newborn health. • Many adopted guidelines for kangaroo mother care and use of antenatal corticosteroids. • Many also adopted national policies for maternal death notification and review. • The odds of policy adoption were greater in certain contexts. • Economic growth, gender equality, and governance may facilitate policy adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To define the frequency, risk factors, and outcomes of massive transfusion in obstetrics. METHODS: The State Inpatient Dataset for New York (1998-2007) was used to identify all delivery hospitalizations for hospitals that reported at least one delivery-related transfusion per year. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between maternal age, race, and relevant clinical variables and the risk of massive blood transfusion defined as 10 or more units of blood recorded. RESULTS: Massive blood transfusion complicated 6 of every 10,000 deliveries with cases observed even in the smallest facilities. Risk factors with the strongest independent associations with massive blood transfusion included abnormal placentation (1.6/10,000 deliveries, adjusted odds ratio [OR] 18.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 14.7-23.3), placental abruption (1.0/10,000, adjusted OR 14.6, 95% CI 11.2-19.0), severe preeclampsia (0.8/10,000 adjusted OR 10.4, 95% CI 7.7-14.2), and intrauterine feta demise (0.7/10,000, adjusted OR 5.5, 95% CI 3.9-7.8). The most common etiologies of massive blood transfusion were abnormal placentation (26.6% of cases), uterine atony (21.2%), placental abruption (16.7%), and postpartum hemorrhage associated with coagulopathy (15.0%). A disproportionate number of women who received a massive blood transfusion experienced severe morbidity including renal failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, and in-hospital death. CONCLUSION: Massive blood transfusion was infrequent, regardless of facility size. In the presence of known risk for receipt of massive blood transfusion, women should be informed of this possibility, should deliver in a well-resourced facility if possible, and should receive appropriate blood product preparation and venous access in advance of delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]