BACKGROUND Maternal and child healthcare services are very important for the health outcomes of the mother and that of the child and in ensuring that both maternal and child deaths are prevented. Studying these services is necessary in developing countries where infrastructure (which is meant to deal with these health services) is minimal or lacking. The objective of the study is to examine the...

background & aim: during the postpartum period, women experience physiological changes, which can have negative impacts on their quality of life. women’s knowledge regarding postpartum complications and care can help them successfully pass this critical period. the aim of this study was to evaluate maternal knowledge on postpartum care in healthcare centers of mashhad, iran in 2013. methods:in ...

BACKGROUND Demand side financing (DSF) is a widely employed strategy to enhance utilization of healthcare. The impact of DSF on health care seeking in general and that of maternal care in particular is already known. Yet, its effect on financial access to care, out-of-pocket spending (OOPS) and provider motivations is not considerably established. Without such evidence, DSFs may not be recommen...

BACKGROUND Data on cause-specific mortality, skilled birth attendance, and emergency obstetric care access are essential to plan maternity services. We present the distribution of India's 2001-2003 maternal mortality by cause and uptake of emergency obstetric care, in poorer and richer states. METHODS AND FINDINGS The Registrar General of India surveyed all deaths occurring in 2001-2003 in 1....

BACKGROUND Maternal mortality ratio of a country is indicative of its health and development status. Information on maternal mortality is required to determine this status and to set priorities for policy making and programmatic and operation research strategies. This study was conducted to determine the causes of maternal mortality in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS This study was conducte...

Introduction: Preconception care is an integral part of healthcare services for women, in which the existing risks for pregnancy are evaluated. This study aimed to determine the frequency of preconception care and its importance for the health of mother, fetus, and newborn in years 2009-2012.  Methods: In this descriptive retrospective study, the study population included newly-pregnant mother...

BACKGROUND The lack of reliable and up-to-date statistics on maternal deaths and disabilities remains a major challenge to the implementation of Nigeria's Road Map to Accelerate the Millennium Development Goal related to Maternal Health (MDG-5). There are currently no functioning national data sources on maternal deaths and disabilities that could serve as reference points for programme manager...

BACKGROUND There has been a rapid increase in the publication of guidelines for managing obesity and weight gain during pregnancy over the past five years. Healthcare professionals have identified multiple barriers to this area of practice, including the need to improve their communication skills, beliefs that pregnant women will have negative reactions to weight-related discussions, and a lack...

Background Knowledge of the aggregate effects of multiple socioeconomic vulnerabilities is important for shedding light on the determinants of growing health inequalities and inequities in maternal healthcare. Objective This paper describes patterns of inequity in maternal healthcare utilization and analyzes associations between inequity and multiple socioeconomic vulnerabilities among women in...

INTRODUCTION Poor healthcare access is a major barrier to receiving antenatal care and a cause of high maternal mortality in South Africa (SA). 'Point-of-care' (POC) diagnostics is a powerful emerging healthcare approach to improve healthcare access. This study focuses on evaluating the accessibility and utility of POC diagnostics for maternal health in rural SA primary healthcare (PHC) clinics...