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BackgroundAllowing women to have a companion of their choice during labor and delivery is a cost-effective strategy to enhance the quality of maternal care and promote a positive birth experience. Due to the limited studies on women's preferences for labour companionship, this study aimed to assess the desire for labour companionship and its associated factors among pregnant women attending ante-natal care at public health facilities in Debre Berhan City.MethodA facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from August 1–30, 2022. A face-to-face questionnaire administered was used to collect data. Then, entered into Epi-Data version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 25 for data analysis. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, variables with P

BackgroundSevere maternal outcome (SMO) encompasses women who survive life-threatening conditions either by chance or due to treatment quality, or who die. This concept assumes that severe maternal morbidity predicts mortality risk, enabling the analysis of risk factors for life-threatening outcomes and improving our understanding on the causes of maternal death. This study aims to determine the incidence of SMO and its leading causes in East Gojjam during a period of regional conflict.MethodsA prospective follow-up study was conducted at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in East Gojjam from July 1, 2023, to February 30, 2024. The study included 367 women admitted with potentially life-threatening conditions, including 8 maternal deaths, using sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and WHO Maternal Near-Miss (MNM) criteria. Data were entered into Epi Data v.4.6 and analyzed using SPSS v.27. The WHO MNM approach assessed SMO indicators and maternal health care quality were utilized.ResultsDuring the eight-month period, there were 3,167 live births, 359 potentially life-threatening conditions (PLTC), and 188 SMO cases (180 MNM and 8 maternal deaths). The SMO ratio was 59.4 per 1,000 live births (95% CI: 51, 68 per 1,000 live births). The MNM to mortality ratio, mortality index, and maternal mortality ratio were 22.5:1, 4.2%, and 252.6 per 100,000 live births, respectively. Over 80% of women with SMO showed evidence of organ dysfunction upon arrival or within 12 h of hospitalization. The leading causes of SMO were hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and obstetric hemorrhage, including uterine rupture, with uterine rupture contributing to half of the maternal deaths.ConclusionThis study found that the incidence of SMO was comparable to that reported in most other studies. HDP was the primary cause of SMO, followed by obstetrical hemorrhage, consistent with other studies in Ethiopia. Uterine rupture was identified as the leading cause of maternal death. As this study was conducted in a single institution and in the period of severe armed conflict, it may not fully capture the range of maternal health issues across populations with varying healthcare access and socio-economic backgrounds. Caution should be exercised when generalizing these findings to the wider population.

Background: Pregnant women and recent mothers face a higher risk of severe illness from Coronavirus disease 2019 due to physiological and immunological shifts during pregnancy, rendering them more vulnerable to inflammatory lung conditions. This susceptibility poses serious threats to both maternal and newborn health. Therefore, it is imperative for pregnant women to be fully informed about Coronavirus disease 2019 and to implement preventive measures. This study aimed to evaluate the collective knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to Coronavirus disease 2019 among pregnant women across Africa. Methods: The researchers collected studies from multiple databases, including Pub Med/MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochran library, and Google Scholar. A combination of search terms and Boolean operators were utilized to gather relevant literature. Each study underwent quality assessment by five authors independently, using the modified Newcastle Ottawa Scale tailored for cross-sectional research. Statistical analysis was conducted using STATA™ Version 11 software, and meta-analysis was performed using the random-effects (Der Simonian and Laird) method. Heterogeneity was evaluated using I-squared (I2) statistics, and a one-out sensitivity analysis was carried out. Results: This systematic review and meta-analysis included 19 articles, involving a total of 7852 participants. It revealed that the combined estimated prevalence of good knowledge about Coronavirus disease 2019, positive attitudes, and good practices among pregnant women was found to be 61.8 % (95 % CI: 53.0%–70.65 %; I2 = 98.7 %), 51.7 % (95 % CI: 30.34%–73.6 %; I2 = 99.3 %), and 52.31 % (95 % CI: 41.48%–63.15 %; I2 = 98.8 %) respectively. Conclusion: This study emphasizes a significant concern: pregnant women exhibit a notable lack of knowledge, positive attitudes, and preventive practices regarding Coronavirus disease 2019. Considering their heightened vulnerability, urgent action is required to improve their understanding, attitudes, and behaviours related to the virus. Healthcare professionals should take proactive measures to educate pregnant women, addressing this crucial gap through various strategies.

Abstract Pregnancies in the bicornuate uterus are usually considered high-risk because of their association with poor reproductive outcomes such as recurrent pregnancy loss, cervical insufficiency, low birthweight, preterm birth, malpresentation, cesarean delivery, and uterine rupture. The objective of the report was to show that patients with a scared bicornuate uterus at post-term could have successful pregnancy outcomes. We are presenting a 28-year-old gravida III para II lady with a bicornuate scared uterus at post-term. She has a history of early third-trimester pregnancy loss, and her second pregnancy was delivered via cesarean section. In her first pregnancy, the patient's uterus was not identified as bicornuate. However, an ultrasound during her second pregnancy revealed that she had a bicornuate uterus, which led to the diagnosis. At term, the lady had a successful cesarean section. Lastly, for the current post-term pregnancy she had no prenatal check-up. Even though this, she was coming at the latent first stage of labor and an emergency cesarean section was done. Conclusion Successful outcomes could be achieved in patients with the bicornuate uterus at post-term gestation.

BackgroundFamily planning integration in areas where women contact the healthcare system routinely is essential for addressing the high unmet need for family planning among postpartum women and reducing the risk of short interpregnancies. Immediate postpartum family planning (IPPFP) is an integrated service, and opportunities exist for women by providing family planning (FP) counseling and contraceptives as part of care following childbirth within 48 h. Therefore, this review aimed to assess the pooled estimate of immediate postpartum family planning utilization and its associated factors in Ethiopia.MethodElectronic databases were used to conduct an extensive search of all published studies, and the digital library was used to identify any unpublished studies. An observational study that reports the prevalence/magnitude and/or associated factors/predictors/determinants of IPPFP utilization in Ethiopia was included. Data were extracted on the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analyzed using STATA Version 11. A random-effects model was applied to determine the pooled prevalence of immediate postpartum family planning utilization with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Inverse variance (I2) was used to identify the presence of heterogeneity, and a funnel plot and Egger's test were used to check the presence of publication bias. Subgroup analysis was conducted based on the sample size, region, and year of study to identify the source of heterogeneity.ResultOf 15 primary studies, the overall pooled prevalence of immediate postpartum family planning utilization among postpartum women in Ethiopia was 21.04% (95% CI: 13.08, 29.00). Received counseling on FP [OR: 3.59; 95% CI (1.84, 7.01; P

BackgroundGlobal maternal deaths have either increased or stagnated tragically. Obstetric hemorrhage (OH) remains the major cause of maternal deaths. Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG) has several positive results in the management of obstetric hemorrhage in resource-limited settings where getting definitive treatments are difficult and limited. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the proportion and factors associated with the utilization of NASG for the management of obstetric hemorrhage among healthcare providers in the North Shewa zone, Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at health facilities of the north Shewa zone, Ethiopia from June 10th-30th/2021. A simple random sampling (SRS) technique was employed among 360 healthcare providers. Data were collected using a pretested self-administered questionnaire. EpiData version 4.6 and SPSS 25 were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. Binary logistic regression analyses were undertaken to identify associated factors with the outcome variable. The level of significance was decided at a value of p of

BackgroundDiscontinuation of the most effective methods of contraception such as Implanon has now become a worldwide problem, which is significantly associated with mistimed and unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion, leading to an increased risk of maternal and child mortality and morbidity. However, studies on factors associated with Implanon discontinuation in Ethiopia, particularly in the area under this study, are limited. Therefore, this study aims to identify the determinants of Implanon discontinuation among women who used Implanon at Debre Berhan town public health institutions.Methods and materialsA facility-based unmatched case–control study was conducted among 312 study participants (78 cases and 234 controls) from February 1, 2021, to April 30, 2021. The study participants were selected by using a systematic random sampling method for controls, and cases were selected consecutively until the required sample size was reached, during the data collection period. The data were collected by using a structured face-to-face interviewer-administered questionnaire and entered into Epidata version 4.6 and transferred to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Variables with a p-value of

BackgroundPersons with disabilities have a right to make their own choices about their bodies, health, and lives, especially regarding their sexual and reproductive health. But they may experience more challenges than women without disabilities in having their reproductive health needs met. So there is an urgent need to scale up disability inclusion in all levels of the health system including family planning. Therefore, the objective of this study was to estimate the pooled prevalence of Family Planning Utilization and Associated Factors among Women with Disabilities in Ethiopia.MethodologyStudies were gathered from Pub Med/MEDLINE (681), Google Scholar (426), African Journal of Online (AJOL) (36), CINAHL (211), HINARI (191), Scopus (86), Science Direct (62), Excerpta Medica database (EMBA, SE) (113), DOAJ (38), Web of Science (26), Google (271), and other organization's websites (2) using a combination of search terms and Boolean operators. The modified Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) for cross-sectional research was used by three authors to independently assess the quality of each study. For statistical analysis, STATATM Version 11 software was employed. For the meta-analysis, the random-effects (Der Simonian and Laird) technique was applied. The heterogeneity test was performed using I-squared (I2) statistics. A one-out sensitivity analysis was performed.ResultA total of 7 articles with 2787 participants were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of family planning utilization among Women with Disabilities was 29.6% (95% CI: 22.3, 36.8); I2 = 94.6%). Women who were in marital union (pConclusionThe finding of this study showed that utilization of family planning among women with disability is relatively lower than the Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey 2019. Therefore, the discussions with the partner and their engagement in decisions to use family planning are critical to increase its use.

Low vaccine acceptance remains a public health threat, which is still common among healthcare workers. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to determine the level of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia. This review was reported using the PRISMA checklist. Eleven articles were retrieved, then extracted on Excel, and exported to STATA version 11 software for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of vaccine acceptance and it is 95% CI were presented using forest plots. Tests to check heterogeneity and publication bias were done. The estimated pooled prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia with a random-effects model was 54.59% (95% CI: 42.49, 66.69) through a heterogeneity index (I2) of 99.1% (p

BackgroundHIV disclosure among children refers to when the caregiver is having disclosed to the child that he or she has HIV specifically. Disclosure significantly improved adherence to treatment and quality of life among children living with HIV/AIDS. Even though, the benefits of disclosure are considerable, informing a child of his or her own HIV status is often delayed. There is a dearth of studies on HIV serostatus disclosure among children in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the pooled prevalence of HIV serostatus disclosure and associated factors among children living with HIV in Ethiopia.Methods and MaterialsUsing a combination of search terms and Boolean operators, studies were retrieved from Pub Med/MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochran library, and Google Scholar. Five authors independently assessed the quality of each study using the modified Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) for cross-sectional studies. STATA Version 11 software was used for statistical analyses. The random-effects (Der Simonian and Laird) method was used for the meta-analysis. The heterogeneity test was carried out with the help of I-squared (I2) statistics. A leave-one-out sensitivity analysis was carried out.ResultsA total of 12 articles with 3,410 participants were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of HIV serostatus disclosure among children was 36.87% (95% CI: 29.30, 44.44; I2 = 95.8%). Children aged older than 10 years (p = 0.003) and caregivers with primary and above education (p < 0.001) were factors significantly associated with HIV serostatus disclosure among children.ConclusionsThe finding of this study showed that HIV serostatus disclosure among children is relatively low. Therefore, developing clear guideline on HIV serostatus disclosure among children, strengthening public health education or community awareness creation about HIV/AIDS to promote the benefits of disclosure and extensively provision of counseling by health care providers are essential to enhance HIV serostatus disclosure among children.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021239035.

Objectives Preconception care can have a major public health impact by reducing maternal and childhood mortality and morbidity. Despite this importance, preconception care is still not implemented in majority of developing countries. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the proportion of knowledge of preconception care and its associated factors among reproductive-age women in Debre Berhan Town, Ethiopia.Design and methods A community-based, cross-sectional study was employed from 1 March to 30 March 2019 among reproductive-age women. Data were collected via a face-to-face, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were entered into EpiData V.4.6 and exported to SPSS V.25 for analysis. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, variables with p

Background: Universities are places where students live and study in close contact to each other. Nowadays, the foundations of this particular group have been affected significantly by the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019. The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic has demanded the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines. However, there is still limited evidence in COVID-19 vaccine acceptability and perceived barriers among some subgroups, including university students. This study aimed to assess vaccine acceptance, associated factors, and perceived barriers among university students, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2021 at Debre Berhan University among 423 students. The participants were selected using simple random sampling technique. A semi-structured, pretested, and self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Multivariable logistic-regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with vaccine acceptance. An adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval and its p-value of ≤0.05 was used to declare significant association. Results: The proportion of the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was 69.3% (95% CI: 65, 74). Being knowledgeable (AOR: 2.43, CI: 1.57, 3.77), being a health science student (AOR: 2.25, CI: 1.43, 3.54), and being in a family practicing COVID-19 prevention (AOR: 1.73, CI: 1.06, 2.81) were found to be factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Conclusion: Though, this study found a 69.3% acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine, there were noticeable perceived barriers and related factors in vaccine acceptance hesitancy. Thus, health education and communication regarding the vaccine are very crucial to alleviate the identified barriers.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the general healthcare system and higher education worldwide. Adapting to the culture of “new normal,” an emerging response to COVID-19, is crucial for public health recovery and learning. This study investigated students' readiness and intention for adapting to the ‘‘new normal’’ COVID-19 prevention campaign during campus re-entry in Debre Berhan university in Ethiopia after the country eases lockdown restrictions.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 20th to 30th January 2021, among graduate students in Debre Berhan university, Ethiopia. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 423 participants. A structured and pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data and bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions were fitted. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to interpret the strength of association and the statistical significance level was declared at a p-value of ≤0.05.Result: In this study 423 participants were involved. The level of readiness and intention of adapting to the ‘‘new normal’’ prevention campaign were 49.4 and 54.8% respectively. Being a health science student (AOR = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.18, 2.81), being married (AOR = 2.10; 95% CI: 1.1, 4.05), having a smartphone (AOR = 1.84; 95% CI: 1.09, 3.12), and being knowledgeable towards COVID-19 (AOR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.04, 2.34) were found to be significant factors associated with intention towards adapting to the ‘‘new normal’’ prevention practice. Also, the main reason why participants had no intention to carry out the ‘‘new normal’’ prevention campaign were a shortage of quality required preventive supplies (60%) and those who perceived themselves personally not at risk of COVID-19 (31.3%).Conclusion: In this study, although information on the COVID-19 outbreak is continually evolving, readiness and intention for adapting to the ‘‘new normal’’ COVID-19 prevention campaign were insufficient. It is critical to improve readiness and intention through increasing knowledge and emphasizing the importance of new technologies and handy protective supplies that may encourage the sustainable practice of new norms post-pandemic.

Abstract Background Preconception care refers to things women can do before and between pregnancies to increase the chance of having a healthy baby and being a healthy mother. Unfortunately, millions of women in the world do not have access to pre-pregnancy, pregnancy health services and childbirth with suitable quality. Therefore, addressing this significant gap and coming up with the necessary information is helpful to improve maternal and child health in our country. So, this study was aimed to assess the utilization of preconception care and associated factors among reproductive age group women in Debre Birhan Town, North Shewa, Ethiopia. Methods A mixed method of community based cross-sectional study was employed from March 1st to 30; 2017. Systematic sampling technique was used to select a total of 424 reproductive age women. The data were collected using pre-tested and structured questionnaire and eight in-depth interviews were done using an interview guide. The collected data were coded and entered into Epi data 3.5.1 and exported to SPSS version 21 for cleaning and analysis. Logistic regression was run to look for the association between dependent and explanatory variables; and using variables which have p-value ≤0.25 binary logistic regression was fitted. Association presented in Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval and significance determined at P-value less than 0.05. Result A total of 410 subjects were participated with a response rate of 96.7%. The overall utilization of Preconception care was 13.4%. Woman’s age, marital status, knowledge and availability of unit for preconception care were significantly associated with utilization of preconception care with (AOR: 3.567; 95% CI: 1.082, 11.758), (AOR: 0.062; 95% CI: 0.007, 0.585), (AOR = 6.263; 95% CI: 2.855, 13.739) and AOR: 13.938; 95% CI: 3.516, 55.251) respectively. Conclusions The finding of this study showed that women’s utilization of preconception care is relatively low. A woman’s age, marital status, educational status, knowledge about preconception care services and availability of unit for preconception care were factors affecting utilization of preconception care. Therefore, establishing preconception care strategies which can address all the components of the care will be essential when designing effective implementation strategies for improving the uptake of preconception care.

BackgroundAs the studies show, in every minute in the world, 380 women become pregnant and 190 face unplanned or unwanted pregnancies; 110 experience pregnancy-related complications, and one woman dies from a pregnancy-related cause. Preconception care is one of the proven strategies for the reduction in mortality and decreases the risk of adverse health effects for the woman, fetus, and neonate by optimizing maternal health services and improves woman's health. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of utilization of preconception of care and associated factors in Africa.MethodsSystematic search of published studies done on PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science CINAHL, and manually on Google Scholar. This meta-analysis follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The quality of studies was assessed by the modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Meta-analysis was carried out using a random-effects method using the STATA™ Version 14 software.ResultFrom 249,301 obtained studies, 28 studies from 3 African regions involving 13067 women included in this Meta-analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of utilization of preconception care among pregnant women in Africa was found to be 18.72% (95% CI: 14.44, 23.00). Knowledge of preconception care (P = ConclusionThe results of this meta-analysis indicated, as one of best approaches to improve birth outcomes, the utilization of preconception care is significantly low among mothers in Africa. Therefore, health care organizations should work on strategies to improve preconception care utilization.

BackgroundMaternal satisfaction is an essential indicator of the quality and the efficiency of the health care systems. At a time when efforts are being made globally to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity, assessing maternal satisfaction is essential. There is a dearth of studies on maternal satisfaction with intrapartum care, particularly in the study area. This study aimed to assess maternal satisfaction with intrapartum care and associated factors among postpartum women at public hospitals of North Shoa Zone Ethiopia.MethodsA facility-based cross-sectional study with a systematic random sampling technique was conducted from May1-30/ 2020. Data were entered into EpiData version 4.6 and analyzed using a statistical package for the social sciences version 25. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression were employed. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, level of statistical significance was declared at variables with p < 0.05 and the strength of the association was measured by an adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval.ResultOf the total 394 participants, 111 (28.2%) [95% CI: 23.9, 32.5] of postpartum women were satisfied with the intrapartum care. Place of residence [AOR: 1.934; 95% CI (1.183, 3.162)], planned status of the pregnancy [AOR: 2.245; 95% CI, (1.212, 4.158)], number of antenatal care visit [AOR: 2.389; 95% (1.437, 3.974)] and duration of labour [AOR: 2.463; 95% (1.378, 4.402)] were factors significantly associated with maternal satisfaction with intrapartum care.ConclusionThe proportion of maternal satisfaction with intrapartum care was low. Therefore, designing strategies to enhance maternal satisfaction by strengthening adherence to antenatal care visits, provision of family planning to prevent unplanned pregnancy, and strict utilization of partograph to prevent prolonged labour and childbirth-related complications are crucial.

BACKGROUND:Studies in sub-Saharan Africa indicated the overall prevalence of optimal breast feeding ranged between a lowest of 17.63% in East Africa and a highest of 46.37% in West Africa. It's estimated that 823,000 deaths of children could be prevented every year through optimal breastfeeding practices. However optimal breastfeeding practices is low in most setting of Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess optimal breastfeeding practices and associated factors in Worabe town. METHOD:A community-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from April 15th-25th, 2018. A systematic sampling technique was applied on 347 sampled mothers who had children greater than or equal to 2 years old. The data was entered into EpiData (version 3.1) and subsequently exported to SPSS Statistics (version 22) for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used for presenting summary data using tables and graph. Bivariate and multi variable logistic regression analysis to identify were used to identify associated factors. The statistical significance was declared at P