introduction preterm birth is still a major health problem throughout the world. preterm birth results in 75% of neonatal mortality. we sought to identify risk factors which cause preterm birth. materials and methods this cross-sectional study assessed all preterm neonates born in asali hospital in khorram abad (either by nvd or c/s) during the first 6 months of 2007. sampling method was census...

BACKGROUND Prenatal and postnatal visits are two effective interventions for protection and promotion of maternal health by reducing maternal mortality and improving the quality of birth. There is limited nationally representative data regarding the changes of prenatal and postnatal visits since the latest health system reform initiated in 2009 in Shaanxi, China. The aim of this study was to ex...

BACKGROUND The International Conference on Population Development held in Cairo in 1994 identified the importance of male involvement in reproductive health programs. Since then, there has been an increase in reproductive health initiatives that target both men and women in an attempt to fulfill the 5th Millenium Development Goal. Yet, while the benefits of male involvement have been acknowledg...

It is widely understood that maternal health care relies on the entire health system. However, little empirical, country-specific, research has been done to trace out the ways in which health system elements can shape maternal health outcomes. This study seeks to redress this situation, by providing an example of how a health systems approach can benefit the understanding of maternal health ser...

HEALTHiADMNISTRAION The provision of health care services to the people of India is a basic responsibility of state governments and to some extent of municipal corporations of the larger cities. The Union Government is responsible for this provision in Union administered territories. (a) Central Administration. The Union Government, through the Ministry of Health, generally has largely advisory...

agenda-setting is a crucial step for inclusive health policies in the low- and middle-income countries (lmics). enlightened by ha et al manuscript, this commentary paper argues that ‘political impetus’ is the key to the successful agenda-setting of health policies in lmics, though other determinants may also play the role during the process. this vietnamese case study presents a good example fo...

objective: to understand the knowledge and services of informal providers and to explore their role in addressing the human resource gap in uttar pradesh, india, within the context of maternal health. materials and methods: the study is exploratory in nature, conducted in four blocks of four districts of uttar pradesh state, india. semi-structured interviews were conducted with 114 informal pro...

background although iranian women increasingly attend hospitals for childbirth, no information is available on programs and practices related to infection control in labor and delivery units. conclusions the results of this study revealed a need for development of appropriate policies and protocols for infection control practices in labor and delivery units and also midwives training on clean d...

Despite evidence that social contexts are key determinants of health, research into factors associated with maternal health service utilization in Ethiopia has often focused on individual and household factors. The downside is that this underestimates the importance of taking contextual factors into account when planning appropriate interventions in promoting safe motherhood in the country. The...

BACKGROUND While community capabilities are recognized as important factors in developing resilient health systems and communities, appropriate metrics for these have not yet been developed. Furthermore, the role of community capabilities on access to maternal health services has been underexplored. In this paper, we summarize the development of a community capability score based on the Future ...