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Dietary diversification is a sustainable and appealing strategy for pregnant women to ensure a balanced dietary intake. In Ethiopia, despite the implementation of various nutritional initiatives, inadequate dietary diversity remains a significant factor contributing to adverse birth outcomes. Thus, this study aimed to assess the dietary diversity and associated characteristics among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Eastern Ethiopia. Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 28 to May 28, 2021. A total of 420 pregnant women were selected using a systematic random sampling technique. We used the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and a 95% confidence interval to estimate the strength of the association. We used a p -value of 0.05 to declare statistical significance. Only 35.0% (95% CI: 30.5, 39.5) of the 420 pregnant women involved in this study received appropriate dietary diversity. Having an educational level of college and above (AOR 3.01, 95% CI: 1.19-7.5), being an urban dweller (AOR = 3.57, 95% CI: 1.68-7.52), eating three meals and above (AOR = 7.62, 95% CI: 2.88-9.03), and having ≤4 family sizes (AOR = 9.33, 95% CI: 4.06-10.4) were significantly associated with an adequate dietary diversity score among pregnant women. This study found that pregnant women had inadequate overall consumption of a diversified diet. Increasing meal frequency, enhancing women's education, raising awareness of dietary diversity among rural inhabitants, and offering counselling on family planning utilisation during ANC services are all beneficial in promoting dietary diversity among pregnant women., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Introduction: Hepatitis B virus disease is a global acute and chronic communicable disease. Mother-to-child transmission is the reason for high carrier rates. Unvaccinated newborns infected through mother-to-child transmission are at >95% risk of developing chronic hepatitis B virus disease. Vaccination is the most effective measure to reduce the global incidence of hepatitis B virus disease. Despite the World Health Organization's target to achieve 90% of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose by 2030, little is known about the vaccination status of exposed newborns., Objective: The present study aimed to determine the timing of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose in exposed newborns in Southwest Ethiopia., Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was employed on 422 systematically selected exposed newborns from April 2, 2022, to August 28, 2022. A pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were entered into Epi data 3.1 and exported into SPSS version 23 software for analysis. Both bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regressions were performed. Variables with a p -value <.05 at a 95% confidence interval (CI) were considered statistically significant., Results: The proportion of neonates who received their first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine on time was 57 (42.5%) (95% CI: 38.3-46.1%). A higher likelihood of vaccinating their exposed newborns on time was associated with formal education (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.01, 95% CI: 2.21-7.09), four or more ANC visits (AOR = 2.33, 95% CI: 2.05-6.21), and husband engagement (AOR = 4.31, 95% CI: 2.03-6.34)., Conclusion: The proportion of timely initiation of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose in Southwest Ethiopia was low. Thus, strengthening health education on the hepatitis B vaccine, encouraging women to have at least four ANC visits, and encouraging male involvement help improve the timely administration of the hepatitis B vaccine., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

Background: Anemia is a global public health problem that affects pregnant women. The most common cause of anemia is iron deficiency which is extremely common in developing countries. World health organization reported that 36.5% of pregnant women are anemic globally. In Ethiopia, 27.08% of women of the reproductive age group are anemic. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the magnitude and factors associated with iron supplementation during pregnancy in the southern and eastern regions of Ethiopia., Methods: The data used in this analysis were extracted from Mini Demographic and Health Survey 2019. The survey was conducted in 9 regional states and two city administrations. The data used in the analysis were extracted from individual women datasets, and 1780 study participants were included in this study. The logistic regression analysis including bivariate and multivariable logistic regression at a 95% confidence interval and a p-value less than 0.05 was used., Result: The finding of the study shows that iron supplementation during pregnancy in Southern and Eastern parts of Ethiopia was 50.06%. Among those who received iron, only about 20% took it for 90 days and more during their pregnancy. Iron supplementation among the pregnant women was affected by secondary education [AOR = 2.20, 95%CI (1.325, 3.638)], residing in urban [AOR = 1.75, 95%CI (1.192, 2.574)], having media at home [AOR = 1.41, 95%CI (1.022, 1.946)], having antenatal care follow up [AOR = 9.27, 95%CI (4.727, 18.169)], having 4 and more ANC follow up [AOR = 2.01, 95%CI (1.468,2.760], having antenatal care follow up at government health institutions [AOR = 3.40, 95%CI (1.934, 5.982)], and giving birth at governmental health institutions [AOR = 1.70, 95%CI (1.236, 2.336)]., Conclusion: Only one in two pregnant women was supplemented with iron during their recent pregnancy. The supplementation was affected by women's education, place of residence, presence of media at home, antenatal care follow-up, the number of antenatal care follow up, antenatal care follows up at governmental health institutions, and giving birth at the governmental health institution. The availability and accessibility of maternal care services and their functionality in providing maternal care services improve the supplementation., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Dietary diversification is considered the proxy indicator of dietary quality and nutrient adequacy during pregnancy. Pregnant women have been considered susceptible to malnutrition because of their increased nutrient demands and thus consuming a variety of foods in their diet plays a lion's role in ensuring adequate nutrient intake. So understanding bottleneck factors associated with dietary diversity practice is very crucial to encouraging adequate dietary diversity practice. Therefore, this paper aimed to assess determinants of dietary diversity practice among pregnant women in the Gurage zone, Southwest Ethiopia., Methods: A community-based cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 726 pregnant women, 13 key informants, and 27 focus group discussion discussants in the Gurage zone, southwest Ethiopia, from 1 September to 1 November 2021. A face-to-face interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. According to the Minimum Dietary Diversity Score for Women (MDD-W) tool, women who consumed more than or equal to 5 of 10 food groups in the previous 24 hours had a diverse diet. Epi data version 3.1 was used for data entry, while SPSSversion 26 was used for analysis. To determine factors associated with dietary diversity, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to obtain crude odds ratio (COR), adjusted odds ratios (AOR), and 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs). Statistical significance was determined using adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs) and p values less than 0.05. In narrative form, qualitative results were triangulated with quantitative data., Results: The overall prevalence of the adequate dietary diversity practice was found to be 42.1% with 95% CI (48.4-46.1%) and the mean dietary diversity score was 5.30 ± 1.49 standard deviation (SD). Multivariable analysis revealed that primary school level [AOR = 6.471 (2.905, 12.415)], secondary school level (9-12) [AOR = 7.169 (4.001, 12.846)], college and above level [AOR = 32.27 (15.044, 69.221)], women with higher empowerment [AOR = 3.497 (2.301, 5.315)], women with a favorable attitude toward dietary diversity [AOR = 1.665 (1.095, 2.529)], women from wealthier households [AOR = 2.025 (1.252, 3.278)], and having well-secured food status [AOR = 3.216 (1.003, 10.308)] were variables that influence dietary diversity practice. Three FGD and 13 key informant interviews were conducted, and the results of qualitative data generated three major themes., Conclusion: The overall prevalence of adequate dietary diversity practice was found to be low in this study when compared to studies conducted in Ethiopia. Maternal educations, mothers' attitudes toward dietary diversity, women empowerment, food security status, and wealth index level of the household were determinant factors that influence dietary diversity practice in this study. Therefore, programs aimed to improve pregnant women's dietary diversity practice should focus on improving the socioeconomic status and creating a congenial environment to promote women's empowerment., Competing Interests: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (Copyright © 2022 Tolesa Gemeda Gudeta et al.)

Background: Discontinuation of contraceptives without any change in fertility intention is often associated with unintended pregnancy which ends up with induced abortion and unplanned birth. Despite the Ethiopian government's emphasis on the provision of long-acting contraceptive methods, little attention has been paid to the study of its discontinuation; particularly, no study has been reported in the study area. Thus, this study aimed to assess the discontinuation rate of long-acting reversible contraceptives and associated factors among reproductive-age women in Butajira town, Central Ethiopia, 2020., Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 April to 1 May 2020. A systematic random sampling method was used to select 227 women. Data were collected by a structured and pretested questionnaire. Epi-data (version 4.6.2) and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 25) were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to predict the relation between dependent and independent variables. Finally, a significant statistical association was assured using an adjusted odds ratio at a 95% confidence interval and p value < 0.05., Results: This study revealed that the discontinuation rate of long-acting reversible contraceptives was 50 (22.5%; 95% confidence interval: 17.8-27.2). The main reason for discontinuation was facing side effects 26(52%); from these menstrual disruption 19 (73.1%) was the main reason. Time consumed to reach the health facility (adjusted odds ratio: 6.16, 95% confidence interval: 1.46-25.97), desire to have more children (adjusted odds ratio: 5.3, 95% confidence interval: 1.13-24.81), and counseled about the benefit of long-acting reversible contraceptives (adjusted odds ratio: 0.08, 95% confidence interval: 0.02-0.39) were predictors of discontinuation of long-acting reversible contraceptives., Conclusions and Recommendations: This study showed that the discontinuation rate was high when compared to Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey 2016. Routine pre-insertion counseling about the benefits and side effects of long-acting reversible contraceptives by healthcare providers is highly recommended. In addition, we recommend further trials using larger sample sizes on predictors of discontinuation of long-acting reversible contraceptives.

Background: Provision of preconception care is significantly affected by the health care provider's knowledge of preconception care. In Ethiopia, preconception care is rare, if even available, as part of maternal health care services. Thus, this study aimed to determine the level of knowledge of preconception care and associated factors among health care providers working in public health facilities in Eastern Ethiopia., Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 March to 1 April 2020. A simple random sampling technique was used to select a total of 415 maternal health care providers. We utilized a structured, pretested, and self-administered questionnaire to collect data. Data were entered into EpiData (version 3.1) and exported to STATA (version 16) for analysis. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. All covariates with a p value ⩽0.20 in bivariate logistic regression were entered into a multivariate logistic regression analysis to control the confounding variables; variables with a p value <0.05 were considered statistically significant., Results: Out of 410 respondents, 247 (60.2%; 95% confidence interval: 55.4-65.1) had good knowledge of preconception care. Having an educational level of Bachelor of Science degree and above (adjusted odds ratio: 6.97, 95% confidence interval: 3.85-12.60), 5 or more years work experience (adjusted odds ratio: 2.60, 95% confidence interval: 1.52-4.49), working in a hospital (adjusted odds ratio: 2.50, 95% confidence interval: 1.25-4.99), reading preconception care guidelines (adjusted odds ratio: 3.06, 95% confidence interval: 1.40-6.68), and training on preconception (adjusted odds ratio: 2.90, 95% confidence interval: 1.37-6.15) were significantly associated with good knowledge of preconception care., Conclusions and Recommendations: Three out of five maternal health care providers in this study had good knowledge of preconception care. Facilitating continuous refreshment training and continuous professional development for health workers, preparing comprehensive preconception care guidelines for health institutions, and reading preconception care guidelines were highly recommended.