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Background: A minimum length of stay following facility birth is a prerequisite for women and newborns to receive the recommended monitoring and package of postnatal care. The first postnatal care guidelines in Cameroon were issued in 1998 but adherence to minimum length of stay has not been assessed thus far. The objective of this study was to estimate the average length of stay and identify determinants of early discharge after facility birth. Methods: We analyzed the Cameroon 2018 Demographic and Health Survey. We included 4,567 women who had a live birth in a heath facility between 2013 and 2018. We calculated their median length of stay in hours by mode of birth and the proportion discharged early (length of stay < 24 h after vaginal birth or < 5 days after caesarean section). We assessed the association between sociodemographic, context-related, facility-related, obstetric and need-related factors and early discharge using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression. Results: The median length of stay (inter quartile range) was 36 (9–84) hours after vaginal birth (n = 4,290) and 252 (132–300) hours after caesarean section (n = 277). We found that 28.8% of all women who gave birth in health facilities were discharged too early (29.7% of women with vaginal birth and 15.1% after a caesarean section). Factors which significantly predicted early discharge in multivariable regression were: maternal age < 20 years (compared to 20–29 years, aOR: 1.44; 95%CI 1.13–1.82), unemployment (aOR: 0.78; 95%CI: 0.63–0.96), non-Christian religions (aOR: 1.65; 95CI: 1.21–2.24), and region of residence—Northern zone aOR:9.95 (95%CI:6.53–15.17) and Forest zone aOR:2.51 (95%CI:1.79–3.53) compared to the country's capital cities (Douala or Yaounde). None of the obstetric characteristics was associated with early discharge. Conclusions: More than 1 in 4 women who gave birth in facilities in Cameroon were discharged too early; this mostly affected women following vaginal birth. The reasons leading to lack of adherence to postnatal care guidelines should be better understood and addressed to reduce preventable complications and provide better support to women and newborns during this critical period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the circumstances of occurrence and identify potential risk factors for obstetric fistula in northern Cameroon.Methods: A case series study of 42 obstetric fistula patients seeking services at the Provincial Hospital of Maroua, Cameroon, between May 2005 and August 2007. Structured interviews were conducted prior to surgical intervention.Results: Among obstetric fistula patients, 60% had lived with obstetric fistula for more than 5 years at the time of surgery. Eighty-one percent of patients had received no formal education and 86% were teenagers at their first delivery. Regarding the pregnancy and delivery preceding the occurrence of the fistula, 50% of women reported that they had received no prenatal care and 76% were in labor for more than 12 hours. The majority (83%) of women delivered a stillborn baby.Conclusions: Obstetric fistula patients in the Far North Province of Cameroon had a low level of education, were married at a young age, and had poor access to quality maternal healthcare services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In countries where maternal death review (MDR) sessions are proposed as an intervention to improve quality of obstetric care, training focuses on the theory behind this method. However, experience shows that health staff lack confidence to apply the theory if they have not attended a practical training session. To address this problem, a training curriculum based on the new guidelines from the FIGO Leadership in Obstetrics and Gynecology for Impact and Change (LOGIC) Initiative for preparing and conducting MDR sessions was designed and tested in Cameroon. This curriculum is competency-based and consists primarily of practical individual or group exercises., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)