The stress inoculation hypothesis presupposes that brief intermittent stress exposure early in life induces the development of subsequent stress resistance in human and nonhuman primates. Rodent studies, however, suggest a role for maternal care rather than stress exposure per se (i.e., the maternal mediation hypothesis). To investigate these two hypotheses, we examined maternal care and the de...

BACKGROUND China has made impressive progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for maternal and reproductive health, but ensuring that progress reaches all segments of the population remains a challenge for policy makers. The aim of this review is to map disadvantaged populations in terms of maternal health in China, and to explain the causes of these inequities to promote policy a...

BACKGROUND Maternal mortality, although largely preventable, remains unacceptably high in developing countries such as Malawi and creates a number of intergenerational impacts. Few studies have investigated the far-reaching impacts of maternal death beyond infant survival. This study demonstrates the short- and long-term impacts of maternal death on children, families, and the community in orde...

Introduction While reports from individual hospitals have helped to provide insights into the causes of maternal mortality in low-income countries, they are often limited for policymaking at national and subnational levels. This multisite study was designed to determine maternal mortality ratios (MMRs) and identify the risk factors for maternal deaths in referral health facilities in Nigeria. ...

BACKGROUND Inequities in the utilization of maternal health services impede progress towards the MDG 5 target of reducing the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015. In Namibia, despite increasing investments in the health sector, the maternal mortality ratio has increased from 271 per 100,000 live births in the period 1991-2000 to 449 per 100,000 live births in 1998-...

OBJECTIVE We assessed how health system priorities matched user expectations and what the needs for antenatal care (ANC) strengthening were for improved maternal health in Jimma, Ethiopia. METHODS A questionnaire survey among all recent mothers in the study area was conducted to study the content of ANC and to identify the predictors of low ANC satisfaction. Further, a qualitative approach wa...

It is now more than 2 years since the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of Bangladesh implemented the Maternal Health Voucher Scheme, a specialized form of demand-side financing programme. To analyse the early lessons from the scheme, information was obtained through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders at the sub-district level. The analysis identified a number of...

BACKGROUND The Millennium Development Goals call for a 75% reduction in maternal mortality between 1990 and 2015. Skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care, including Caesarean section, are two of the most important interventions to reduce maternal mortality. Although international pressure is rising to increase donor assistance for essential health services in developing countries,...

OBJECTIVE To study stress in fathers of preterm infants admitted in a neonatal intensive care unit. METHODS Questionnaire-based study. Questionnaire included domains on infants health, maternal illness, staff behavior, parental role, home affairs and finances. Eligible fathers were repeatedly interviewed on day 7 (n=80), day 17 (n=59) and day 27 (n=28). Raw and standardized stress scores were...

OBJECTIVE To identify the factors influencing women's choice of maternity care providers in Canada. METHOD Using the Maternity Experience Survey and a multinomial logit model, this paper examined the influence of various socio-economic and demographic factors on the mix of maternity care providers, while controlling for maternal risk profiles. Additionally, provinces were interacted with mate...